Hit the heartbrakes
by JungleDrum
Summary: Meredith is in an abusive relationship while Derek is engaged to a woman he doesn't really love. Will they find happiness together? Fortunately, you can find out if you read this story. Kinda AU. Rated T for possible violence.*Don't forget to review!*
1. Characters

Disclaimer : I do not own anything

Author's note: English is not my first language so I apologize in advance for any weirdness or grammatical errors. Also, this is my first fanfic so be gentle and don't forget to review!

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Before you read the story, you need to know the characters and their relationship to each other!

Meredith, Izzie, Cristina and George are all 28 years old. They're all close friends.

Finn and Alex are 30

Derek, Mark are 34

Addison and Rose are 32.

Meredith and Alex are siblings

Mark and Adidson are married

Alex is married to Izzie

Derek is best friend to Mark and Addison

At Seattle Grace :

Meredith, Cristina, George and Izzie are second year residents in Oncology

Derek is a neuro attending

Mark is plastics attending

Addison is a Neonatal attending

Rose is a nurse

Alex is a . teacher in high school

Finn is a veterinarian with his own clinic

You'll find out the rest while reading my story!


	2. It's all good

Disclaimer : I do not own anything

Author's note : This chapter is just presenting the situation. No Meredith and Derek interaction just yet. But it's coming......

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_Everything was perfect_, she thought. It was a Monday morning. Meredith Grey was sitting on her new black leather couch, in her new living room that happened to be in the new appartment she shared with her boyfriend Finn. He had left for work earlier before Meredith woke up._ It was all so perfect_, she thought.

"Ouch", she cried in pain. She winced as her small hand touched her swollen lip. Everything was perfect, except for this. It had been two weeks since she had moved in with Finn and she had gotten to know a whole new side of his personality. Meredith lifted her pale blue shirt up to her bra to see if the bruises across her stomach had healed. It had turned into a weird brownish color. The swelling was gone but it still hurt whenever she bent down or streched. She started thinking about the first time it happened. The first night they had moved in, Meredith had came home late. Finn did not like it and let her know :

_"Where were you?", he asked angrily as Meredith walked through the front door of their flat._

_"I was just having a beer with Iz and Cristina at Joe's. I'm sorry I'm late, time just flew and I didn't look at the clock", she answered, not really sure why he was so angry. They didn't have anything planned for the night and he said he was just gonna finish some paperwork for the evening._

_"Now, we live together and you can't just party all night and leave me here. We're supposed to be a couple!", he barked as he closed the space between them._

_Meredith looked at her boyfriend, completely dumbfounded. It was the first time he acted that way. She didn't understand the sudden change in him. _

_"Hey, I appologized, okay? Why the hell are you so angry?!", she asked him, her tone getting louder. And that's when his hand came in violent contact with her cheek. _

_"Do not EVER speak to me that way! You hear me?! Now, if you just do as I say, this won't happen again."_

_Meredith looked down, her hand rubbing her cheek. Everything happened so fast._

_"I'm sorry baby", he said, as he put his arms around her waist, " but you had it coming. If you had just listened..."_

_"I know, I'm sorry, I won't be late again", she whispered, her green eyes still glued to the floor._

_Of course_, she thought, _I should have been home. He had the right to be mad._

He also blamed the second and third times on her. All of her friends told her how lucky she was to have found the perfect man. Good looking, educated, owner of a succesful veterinarian clinic, charming and atttentive. She also believed it but sometimes, he just got carried away and it scared her.

"_I'm gonna do my best_, she internally decided, _my best to be there for him and not create stress. Everything's gonna be fine if I just behave. _" And with that thought, she got up from the couch, took her bag and her jacket and left for work, hoping no one would ask her about that damn swollen lip.

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"Come in", said Mark Sloan to whoever was knocking at his office door. A tall man, with dark wavy hair and piercing blue eyes opened the door and made his way to the chair in front of Mark.

"Derek Sheperd, my man, I know it's Monday morning but you look like death!", exclaimed Mark with a laugh that showed his pearly white teeth.

"Good morning to you too, Mark, and I look like this because Rose kept me up till 3 in morning showing me ugly wedding dresses and possible honeymoon locations."

"Why are you getting married to that woman again?", joked Mark

"Oh, stop it! I know you don't like her but she's.....nice", explained Derek

Mark scoffed.

"Dude, you have a problem if the only thing you can come up with is «she's nice»", asserted the plastic surgeon

"Oh shut up!", replied Derek. He did not want to admit to his best friend but, deep down, he knew Rose wasn't the girl for him. She was pretty and all but she had expensive taste and loved living «the good life», which was completely the opposite of him. He loved living simply and enjoyed fishing, camping and the wilderness. But she was looking forward to their wedding ever since he proposed to her and he did not want to disappoint her.

"Come on, we have work to do", said the neurosurgeon as he stood up to leave.


	3. Need to breathe

Disclaimer : I do not own anything

Author's note: Thank you for your reviews! I appreciate it soooo much! In this chapter, it's still the same Monday. Derek and Meredith interact for the first time. This chapter will be longer so I hope you like it! I'll try to update before Tuesday night. I forgot to mention the title of this story is a funky song by Black Kids.

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The morning passed by slowly but surely. Meredith had been updating chart after chart and now, because Cristina, Izzie and George had all the good cases. She was more than ready to go eat. She made her way to the cafeteria where her friends and her brother were already eating. She sat down with her tray, already expecting what was to come.

"Whoa Mer! What's with your lip?!", said Cristina loudly with a shocked look on her face.

All eyes from the table and from a few tables nearby were now fixed on Meredith's face, which had turned into a bright shade of red.

"Oh that?", she pointed at her lip, faking indifference, " that's nothing! I just fell and busted my lip, no big deal".

"Yeah, doesn't surprise me Mer, you're the clumsiest person I have ever met", replied her brother.

"Hey!", Meredith said, spatting Alex's arm, "what are you doing here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be at work, playing dodgeball with kids?" joked Meredith, trying to change the subject.

"Hey! Teaching sports is way more than just playing dodgeball with kids, okay? I'm turning these boys into men. Besides, a husband has the right to have a lunch with his wife once in a while!", he replied, planting a kiss on Izzie's cheek. The blond resident smiled, took her husband's face between her hands and gave him a passionate kiss on the lips.

"Ok, we get it. You're married and horny. Now, I'm trying to enjoy my food so stop before I start gagging.", exclaimed Cristina

"Yep, seeing my brother make out, not a good way to start my lunch"

"Oh Mer! There's someone for you" Izzie pointed out, looking behind her friend gushingly.

Meredith slowly turned her head around to see a huge bouquet of flowers and Finn behind it.

"Hi baby", Finn started as he sat down next to her " this is for you. I wanted to apologize for our little fight last night"

That statement got an "Awww" from Izzie.

Sure, they had a fight last night, but it was far from little. Meredith had dropped a picture frame he loved while cleaning their living room. The frame shattered on the floor. He had shown her just how much he was mad by the punch she received right on the mouth.

"Thanks Finn", she responded shyly as she took the red roses and put them on her lap.

"Alex, what's new?", Finn asked

"Same old, same old man. School is doing good and my wife is still hot. Everything's good.". He smiled proudly at his wife.

"Cool. I gotta go baby, I have patients at the clinic. I'll see you tonight. Bye everyone." He kissed her cheek. The same cheek he had slapped two weeks ago. Meredith shivered at the contact of his lips on her skin.

"Aren't you glad that your awesome big brother introduced you to Finn? You've been together for what, 2 years? All thanks to me!", her brother emphazised

"Yeah Alex, thank you" she said with a sad smile.

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_This is great_, Derek thought, "_I finally get to eat. I'm relaxed and calm. I finally have a few minutes of pea-_

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Rose

"De-rek! Finally! I looked for you everywhere, honey!"

"Hey", he responded with an obvious lack of enthusiasm that his fiancée did not notice as she sat down next to him.

"I found these great magazines with tons of suits for you and dresses for me. It's pricey but since I'm your princess, nothing is too expensive, right?"

"Of course", he replied with a cruel lack of any joy or excitement that, once again, Rose was oblivious to.

"Perfect! So I was thinking, a beige dress, with a long train, but not too long cause Annie did that last year at her wedding and I totally......."

Derek stopped listening that whatever Rose was rambling about. He had to stop listening to concentrate on probably the most gorgeous women he had seen in a long (long) time who was sitting a few tables over. Even with a swollen lip, she was radiant. With her green eyes and her dirty blond hair, she was the complete opposite of Rose, who had dark hair and dark eyes.

_I wonder if she works here........ Of course she works here, you idiot! She has a lab coat and she's eating in the cafeteria with other doctors. Why does she look so sad?_

"So, what do you think? Say yes!!"

"Eumm....what?...I mean, yes, sure!"

"Oh my god! I can't believe you said yes! I'm gonna call the company right away to see if they can reserve the horses and the monkey and I'll give them your credit ard number! You don't have to give me your card, I know the number by heart. Bye honey!"

Rose got up and planted a quick kiss on her fiancé's lips and left as quickly as she appeared.

_What? Horses? Monkey? _Derek got up as well to go back to his office, not without giving one last glance at certain table. He furrowed his brows, trying to figure out what the hell did Rose say about horses, but he couldn't. All he could remember was the girl with the swollen lip.

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Five hours had passed since lunchtime and Meredith Grey was one exausted woman. She had been running around the hospital delivering lab results and monitering patients just like an intern.

_Dr. Collins is such a bitch! Why won't she just let me breathe for a minute?! Damn!_ _All of that just because I was late this morning. For the first time. The first freaking time!_

She was planning to crash in an on-call room but instead, decided to go check on Jessica. She was a 14 year old girl with leukemia that Meredith was very fond of. Many times, she had spent her breaks at her bedside, sharing gossip or talking about boys. Meredith wanted a little cheer-up and seeing Jessica was exactly what she needed.

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"Time of death, 4h58."

Derek took off his gloves and threw them in the trash as he went to the sink to scrub out. He had spent the last 3 hours, operating on a 16 year old boy with a brain aneurysm when all of the sudden, his heart just stopped beating. He had warned the family that the chances of survival were not great but he was gonna do his very best. Derek was still disappointed in himself. He was drying his hands when his best friend entered the room.

"Are you okay?", Mark said, while he was scrubbing in on a face reconstruction.

"I lost a patient."

"We can talk later if you want."

"No, it's fine. I just need to go outside and get some air. I'll see you later, man" And with that, he left the scrub room and headed outside.

------------------------------

When she entered the room, Meredith's heart sank. Jessica wasn't in her room. Nurses were taking out the sheets from the bed while George was shutting off all the equipments.

"Oh Mer! God, I'm so sorry! We did everything we could.", he said, knowing how much his friend cared about Jessica. Meredith's face might have seemed emotionless, but the pain in her eyes was obvious. She stood there, trying to process what George had said. When he stepped forward to hug her, she backed out of the room and started running. She kept running, ignoring the pain coming from the bruises on her stomach. Eventually, she reached to the locker room. Meredith went to her locker, opened the door, angrily took off her lab coat, threw it in the locker, took out a small bag of sweets and slammed the door. _I need to go get some air_, she thought, _I need to breathe._

_-------------------------------------------------_

When Derek made his way out of the hospital, he noticed someone was sitting on his favorite bench. It was an awesome bench because it had a view to a playground across the street and it was very isolated. Not a lot of people knew abot this bench. That's why he was a bit surprised to find someone there. _A familiar someone_, he thought. _That hair...._

He took a couple of steps forward and sat down at the end o the bench that was free.

"Hi", he said as he watched her face. She looked like she had been crying and she was eating chocolate covered almonds.

"Hi", Meredith replied to the stranger who appeared next to her. He was wearing dark navy scrubs, which could only mean that he was an attending but she had never seen him before._ I would definately remember those eyes If I had already seen them. So blue. _She coudn't get over how blue his eyes were. She didn't mind the company, he seemed nice and non-annoying.

"Sometimes, I hate this job, he admitted, I hate to be the one who couldn't save the kids and the moms and the brothers." Derek felt a bit embarrassed to share this much with someone he didn't know. _She probably doesn't wanna talk. I should just shut up. I'm such an idiot!_

"I hate this job too sometimes. You connect with the patients. You get them and they get you and one day, they die. They just.....die."

"Yeah."

"Want some?" Meredith pointed to the bag of sweets between them, on the bench.

"I didn't want to ask. They're my favorites" Derek said with a goofy smile on his face, which made Meredith laugh. He took a handful from the bag and started eating.

"Glad I could make you laugh", Derek said, to which she responded with a smile of her own.

"May I ask what happened to your lip?"

_Damn it! Why did I ask? It's none of my buisness!_

"Oh that..erm.. it's nothing. I just ran into a door. No big deal." She kept her eyes to the floor. Meredith always did that when she was lying.

"Oh, okay. Be careful next time." The sound of Meredith's pager put an end to their little conversation.

"I gotta go. You can keep the almonds. Seems like you need some cheering up too" She ran back into the hospital to where she was needed.

Curiously, during the short time they were together, Derek had totally forgotten that he was upset. It's as though the girl with the swollen lip was the remedy to his crappy mood.

_Oh crap! I forgot to ask her name! Derek Sheperd, you're such an idiot sometimes!_


	4. Strangers no more

Disclaimer : I own nothing

Author's note : Here is the new chapter. I said it would be done Tuesday and I'm sorry for being late. It took me longer than expected. Next chapter will be online by Friday afternoon, promise!

I just want to state that in regards to abusive relationships, I'm just an outsider looking in. I've never been in one so I'm trying my best to be as accurate as possible and I hope I'm not offending anybody. I truly appreciate every review, they motivate me to write better so thank you. Enjoy and don't forget to review!

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Meredith was impatiently waiting for the elevator's doors to open.

_6h32_, she noticed, as she glanced at her watch.

She was exhausted from a hard day of work and had been slightly distracted. The short time she had spent talking to that stranger yesterday on the bench had almost made her forget about her patient's death and her troubles at home. While she was supposed to be filling yet another chart this morning, her mind was still captivated by the brightness of that man's eyes and here she was, ready to go home and he was still taking over her thoughts.

_I wonder what his name is_. Meredith suddenly felt a wave of guilt wash over her.

_Why I am thinking about this man when I don't even know him? Finn is my boyfriend and he's been good to me. All I've been doing for the past few days is making him mad. Get it together Mer!_

She had a dinner planned at her brother's house with Finn. She did not want to be late, as she knew how her boyfriend would react : violently. She was tired and did not want to deal with her his anger again.

_Finn. I wonder how's his mood today. I hope its not bad cause if he's stressed, he might take it out on me again. I don't know long I can avoid all the questions about the bruises. I can't be late again. I just can't._

Finally, the fourteenth floor's empty elevator opened and she stepped inside.

The doors opened again at the twelfth floor, revealing a very familiar face and a pair of clear blue eyes.

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It took two hours for Derek to finish filling out some paperwork. It usually took him a lot less time than that. However, today was nothing usual. Ever since he had seen her for the first time yesterday, her sad green eyes was all he could think about.

_A pretty girl like her, why would she be so sad?_

A knock on the door brought his mind back to his office.

"Come in", he said.

Rose opened the door and walked into her fiancé's office.

"Hey honey!", she said with the usual enthusiasm in her voice, " I was just wondering if you were done here?"

"No, I still have some paperwork left". He lied. He was already done but he just wanted a few minutes to himself. Rose had been annoyingly hinting at him all day that she wanted him to buy her another engagement ring because, apparently, 4 carats were not fancy enough.

"Ok, well, it's 6h15 now and I'm done here so I'll head home to change and I'll see you there?", she suggested.

"Yeah, see you at home" he replied, not really paying attention to what she was saying.

She closed the door and left.

Minutes later, Derek was locking his office and walking until he was standing in front of the twelfth floor elevator. He had dinner plans with Mark and Addie this evening and was looking forward to fun time with his two best friends. Ever since they had met in college, the three of them had been inseparable. He knew they didn't like the fact that Rose was tagging along tonight but was sure they would try to be as civil as possible. The doors opened after a short moment and what he saw behind them brought an instant smile to his face and butterflies to his stomach.

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"Hey!", exclaimed Derek with a hint of surprise in his tone. He was definately not expecting this.

He stepped into the elevator and placed himself so they were standing side by side.

"Hi!", Meredith said with an enthusiam that shocked her. She didn't how happy she was to see him again until she did.

The doors closed.

"I'm Derek Sheperd, by the way", he said trying to sound casual, "you know, in case you were wondering."

She giggled at his funny attempt to introduce himself. She turned her body towards him when she replied.

"Meredith Grey". She extented her hand for him to shake. He took her small hand in his. They were now face to face. Electricity and energy traveled back and forth between the two bodies leaving Derek and Meredith looking intensly into each other eyes. She was the first to break eye contact.

He quickly let go of her hand, realizing he had holding on to it a bit longer than he should have. It made her smile.

"What do you practice?"

"I'm a neurosurgeon. You?"

"I'm an oncology resident", she answered.

"That's probably why we never met. We work on different floors", Derek observed.

"Yeah."

Silence took over the small space for a few moments.

_Come, Derek! Say something to her! Don't just just stand there like an idiot. Oh my god, she probably thinks I'm an idiot!_

"By the way, thanks for the sweets, they really cheered me up", he said. It felt weird for Derek to be tongue-tied. Usually, he knew what to say to women and was very confident. But this one, she wasn't just any woman. He didn't know what exactly he felt for her, but it was miles away from what he had with Rose. Miles away.

"You're welcome", she replied with a small smile, "they're my favorites too."

"It's like the best of both worlds, dark chocolate and almonds together.", he stated

"Exactly!", she responded, as if it was the most logical thing she had ever heard. "Almonds are good but when they're covered in chocolate, it's ....magical."

"Yeah.", he replied, amazed that somebody else shared his philosophy.

"I can't believe I've met somebody who likes them as much as I do. My boyfriend hates them." Right when she said boyfriend, Meredith could've sworn she saw a bit of disappointment in Derek's eyes.

_Why would he be disappointed that I have a boyfriend? Maybe he likes me? Why would he like you, Mer? He doesn't even know you! I should not be thinking about him that way. I love Finn and that's all that matters._

_Talking to her is so simple_, he thought. He had conversations with Rose, but nowhere near as efforthless and easy as talking to Meredith, even for a few minutes, seemed to be.

The elevator stopped at the first floor to let its passengers out. Meredith got out first, followed by Derek.

"Goodnight, ", she said very professionnally.

"Goodnight, Dr. Grey", he responded with a low tone and an intensity in his voice and his eyes that send shivers to her body.

_I can't let her walk away like this!_

She started walking away but stopped when she heard :

"Dr. Grey!"

She turned around to face Derek.

"Yes, Dr. Sheperd", she replied, curious to what he wanted to say.

"We could be friends if you want. Since, you know, we share the same passion for chocolate covered almonds."

" We barely know each other and you want us to be friends?" she questioned with a amused tone and smile on her face.

" I mean, yeah, if you want. Cause, ermm, I like talking to you. It's easy", Derek said, his eyes looking at the freshly polished florr. He was now regretting he proposed such a foolish idea.

She seemed to be thinking about it for a few seconds.

_I can have a new friend. He seems nice and funny in an awkward kind of way. Besides, Finn doesn't even have to know._

"Fine. let's be friends, Derek" she finally answered with a bright smile that multiplied the number of butteflies in his stomach.

"Okay then, Meredith", he smiled, relieved that she didn't think he was weird or crazy.

They both went in opposite directions, still thinking about their peculiar encounter.

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"Sorry I'm late", Meredith said, as she walked the front door to her brother's house. Izzie, who had opened the door for her, greeting her with a hug.

"Don't be ridiculous, it's just 10 minutes.", laughed Izzie," Come and sit, dinner's ready."

She followed her blond friend to the dinning room where Finn and Alex were already seated, in front of each other. The men stood up to greet her as well. Meredith gave a hug to her brother and went on the other side of the table to do the same to her boyfriend. She could see the anger in his eyes as she approchaed him.

While they were hugging, he harshly whispered in her ear.

"You're late". With his arms around her waist, he purposely increased the pressure, his body crushing the bruise on her stomach. She did her best to not scream in pain.

He released his girlfirend from his embrace and pull out her chair, so she could sit. She muttered a thank you.

"Alex, why did not pull out my chair like Finn?", scolded Izzie

"Oh, come on Iz, just because I don't do this chivalry crap doesn't mean I don't love you!"

"Whatever", she muttered.

Finn chuckled.

"You know what, guys?, Alex started, "I can't believe it's been two years that you've been together!"

"You've been with with Izzie for way longer. Compared to your six years, our relationship is still young.", Meredith said, which earned her an intense but subtile glare from Finn.

"I know Mer, but it feels good to know that my sister is with one of my good friends. Someone who treats you right."

Finn gave his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek.

They continued to chat throughout the dinner but Meredith wasn't concentrating on the conversation. She was thinking about the new friend she had made earlier.

_I wonder what he's doing tonight...._

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All four were sitting at the table, waiting for their orders and they were talking about the patients they had treated earlier today.

"I still don't get how she got out of that fire alive!", Mark stated

"I know!", Derek said,"It was a huge fire, and all she has is a couple of burns on her arms and her hands!"

"And her baby is doing really well", Addison added, "it's a miracle".

"Oh, I rememer that woman! She was wearing that nice diamond bracelet. Very exquisite. You could totally tell she was loaded!", Rose exclaimed,"I wonder if she still needs it, you know, with her hands all burnt and all"

All eyes at the table turned to the dark-haired woman, shocked by what she had just said.

"Relax, I'm not gonna steal it!", she replied, not understanding what was the big deal.

"Of course not! Where would we get that crazy idea?", sarcastically muttered Mark.

At that moment, Rose's ringtone was heard.

She took out her cell phone from her purse and looked at the caller I.D. She excused herself from the table and quickly went outside to take the call. When Rose was out of sight, Addison said what was on her mind.

"Derek, this cannot go on like this! You can't marry that woman!"

"Oh enough! You've been saying this for the last four months! When are you gonna stop?", he replied, tired of hearing them complaining about his fiancée.

"Oh, let's talk about that! Don't you think it's a little crazy to be engaged to someone you've known for only four months?", she questionned

"Yeah, Addie's right. When Rose looks at you, she doesn't see this". He pointed his finger at Derek's face.

"All she sees when she looks at you is the new house you're gonna buy and the new designer clothes she'll get with your credit card and the new car she's gonna be driving. Dude, she's a gold digger. A hardcore one."

"There's no point in trying to change my mind. I know she loves me and we **are **getting married" he proclaimed.

"Look, I know it was hard when Katie left you, Addison said emphatically, her eyes full of tenderness for her best friend,"but you jumped into a relationship too soon. She's just a rebound. It's just not sane, Derek. It's not sane."

Derek knew his best friends only wanted what was best for him.

"I know you have good intentions, but please stop. When Katie left me, I was devastated and depressed. Rose came into my life and made me smile. She listened when I was sad and and she let me take care of her. I needed someone to take care of and she was there. So I'm gonna marry because of how good she's been to me.", he firmly stated, leaving no place for objections.

Rose came back to the table, having not heard what Derek had said.

Derek had tried to convince his friends how right this was but more importantly, he was trying to convince himself. Ever since he had seen Meredith for the first time, he had been wanting more. More than just short conversations and elevator encounters. He wanted more.

----------------------------------------------------

When they arrived home, Finn took Meredith's arm and dragged her to the bedroom.

"Why were you late again?!", he shouted. Finn was still holding her but the pressure on her arm had increased.

"I'm sorry, the elevator took too long.", she replied

"Are you lying to me?" he asked, his tone getting louder. Meredith let out a small cry, as the pressure increased once again.

"I'm not! I would never lie to you. Please let me go, you're hurting me!", she pleaded.

He let go of her arm.

"Take off your clothes", he barked

_Oh no! Not this, I can't. I can't._

"Not tonight. I'm really tired and I have to wake up early tommorow.", she said, hoping he would drop it.

"You owe me this, at least. You made me mad, once again and because of you, my evening was ruined. So you owe me."

Reluctanctly, she started unbuttoning her shirt. She had a hard time doing it, as tears where starting to form in her eyes, blurring her vision.

_It's okay, everything will be fine,_ she thought, as she was taking off her pants._ He'll leave me alone in a few minutes. It'll be over soon._


	5. Illusions

Disclaimer : I own nothing

Author's note : This chapter starts three days after the last one. It contains a bit of sexual content. Once again, thank you all very very very much for the reviews. They're very much appreciated and taken into consideration. Don't worry, Finn is gonna get what he deserves, but not just yet! Enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review! :-D

* * *

"We can do this now", she said convincingly, "no one's watching us".

"Are you sure? There's a lot of people here", he replied. He was tempted to say the least but did not want to do this with an audience witnessing. The Seattle Grace waiting room was full of people desperately waiting to be seen by a doctor. Everyone was focused on their injuries and no one seemed to notice the couple standing face to face in the middle of the room.

"Yes. Come on, Derek.", she whispered seductively looking directly in his eyes with fire in hers. The excitation got the best of him and he nodded, willing to start.

Derek wanted to take off his clothes but realised they were both already naked.

Meredith took a step closer to him. Derek could feel her breath warming his skin. He needed to feel her hands on his body. Everywhere.

"Touch me", he implored, his voice trembling in anticipation.

She slowly kneeled to the floor and was reaching for his shaft with her hands when, all of the sudden, she started screaming :

"What's that sound?! Derek, stop the sound, it hurts!", she cried. He was beggining to ear the sound as well. It was getting louder by the second. They both brought their hands to their ears in an effort to mute the piercing noise.

"Stop the sound Derek! Stop it!", she kept shouting.

Derek's eyes opened in shock. He quickly reached for the alarm clock on his nightstand to stop the irritating sound. Rose was working this morning which is why he was alone in the bed they shared. The wetness of his black boxers and the fact that he was alone in is room and not at the hospital told him all he needed to know.

_It was just a dream._

He sat up, his back against the headboard, feeling a mixture of confusion, guilt and insatiability.

_I'm supposed to marry Rose in a couple of weeks and I can't stop thinking about another woman! What the hell is wrong with me? Maybe I should just forget about her. Forget Meredith Grey._

That thought was quickly dismissed. Derek could not see himself forgetting about her. He wanted her in his life but didn't why he felt that way so strongly. He decided that he could still talk to her and get to know her, as long as he didn't act inapropriately.

_We're friends, that's all. Addison's a girl and she's my friend. There's no reason why this can't be the same with Meredith._

With that thought, Derek took one glance at the clock and got up. He rid himself of his humid underwear and made his way to the shower.

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_This is going to be a great day_, she happily thought. Meredith was in a good mood. In fact, the last few days had been quite pleasant. Finn had been acting like the perfect boyfriend, bringing her flowers, buying her gifts and chocolate. Most importantly, he had not been violent with her since the day they had gone to Alex and Izzie's. Her lip wasn't swollen anymore and the bruise on her stomach was disappearing. Meredith was beggining to think it was just a phase Finn was going through and it was now of the past.

She was sitting on her bed, putting her socks on when a small pink box on her nightstand caught her attention. She took in her hands revealed its content : a gold necklace with a heart shaped pendant.

_Awww! He is so sweet. I knew it. I knew it was just the stress of moving in that made so angry. I knew he would go back to being Finn, the real Finn. I knew he loved me._

She took the jewel and put it around her neck. When time to go to work arrived, she called a cab and waited outside for it.

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The first thing Derek did when he got to the hospital was go straight to Mark's office to have his opinion on what had happened this morning. But unfortunately, he wasn't there.

_I'll talk to him tommorow_, he had thought. Sure, Addison was in the hospital but she was woman, and what Derek needed was a guy talk. He had spent the whole morning, thinking about this dream, not being able to tell somebody. Soon, noon arrived and Derek decided to go to the cafeteria, thinking that a break was exactly what he needed. When he reached his destination, the sight of a blond with green eyes sitting by herself made his heart flutter.

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It was finally lunchtime and Meredith was enjoying her break alone at the cafeteria. Even the crappy hospital food couldn't mess with her mood.

A petite asian woman came at her table sat down in front of her.

"Hey", Cristina said.

"Hey", Meredith replied, happily.

"You look......happy.", said Cristina, narrowing her eyes.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?", she replied, with laughter in her voice.

"You haven't been happy in a while. I don't know, it seems like ever since you moved it with Finn, you've been all dark and twisty.", she observed.

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm fine, okay?", Meredith replied, trying to sound convincing.

"If you say so.", she answered, seeming content with Meredith's answer."Izzie told me your car was at the garage. Sucks."

"Yeah, tell me about it!", Meredith ranted. "This car is crap! A piece of junk. I took a cab this morning but Alex is gonna come pick me up tonight." Cristina glanced at her watch.

"Oh crap! I gotta go check on my patients. See you later!", Cristina said as she got up and ran away.

Meredith sighed, relieved that her friend didn't press the issue. She didn't feel people had to know how Finn had acted towards her because he seemed to have changed.

Suddenly, something made her look up. Derek was standing a couple feet away, looking right at her.

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He decided to walk to the table and sit with her. It felt weird for him to see her with clothes on.

_So much for being appropriate! I can't stop think about that dream and her, touching me._

When he reached her, she smiled and motionned for him to sit down. Meredith was happy to see him. Just like when they met on the elevator, she was surprised by how much his smile and his eyes seemed to up her already good mood.

"Hey, ermmm, hi" he awkwardly said. Talking to her made him nervous because it was her and because of the dream he had.

"Are you okay?", she said, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Yeah, yeah", he replied quickly, "I'm just a bit tired, that's all"

"Oh, ok.", she replied. "Everybody's talking about that pregnant who survived that fire. It's amazing!"

"Yeah, I worked on her. I still can't believe it! No major injuries and the baby is fine.", he said, smiling.

"I know. Those are the kind of patients that make me want to be here and work horribly long hours and study my ass off. They make it all worth it. They make me believe that what we do is not useless. We really do save lives."

Derek was pleasantly surprised to hear her say this for multiple reasons. First, he had felt the same way she did when he had known the pregnant woman was gonna make it. Meredith had a completely different reaction than Rose had at the restaurant, upon hearing the news. All his fiancée was concerned about was money and expensive things and Derek was starting to wonder if that was all that she was about. The one thing he was sure is that he and Meredith had a connection far deeper than what he had with Rose.

"Yeah", he replied. "I feel the same. And that baby will grow up and be able to go to school and do great things."

"Do you have kids?", she asked, immidiately wanting to take the question back.

_Maybe that's too much of a personal question_, she nervously thought, _I mean we don't know each other that well. I should have nev-_

"No. I would like to have some one day but Rose doesn't. She's not really into kids.", he answered with a bit of sadness in his voice, interrupting her internal rambling.

Those words hurt. She tried not to let it show.

Derek was not oblivious to the disappointment that flashed over her eyes at the mention of Rose.

_Whoa, does she like me? If she didn't, she wouldn't be disappointed that I'm with someone. Maybe I'm just seeing things. She has a boyfriend Derek, she's off the market!_

"Who's Rose?", she asked, faking a smile.

" Oh, errmmm, that's-she's my fiancée. She's a nurse here.", he stammered nervously.

"Oh", was all she replied. Her pager beeped, letting her know she was needed at the oncology wing.

"Gotta go. It was nice talking to you.", she said with a half smile. She then ran away, the same way Cristina had done earlier before Derek could even respond.

While she was running, Meredith's mind was in a state of confusion. She didn't understand why she felt such a strong sense of disappointment when hearing about his fiancée.

_Of course he has someone, he's smart, sexy and funny. I have to stop thinking about him that way. It's going well with Finn these days and I'm not gonna scew it up again._

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"That was great", exhaled Rose, her head resting on the young intern's chest.

"Yeah it was awesome. You....were awesome", he emphazised. "Can we see each other tommorow?", he asked.

"Yeah, but we have to be careful. If my fiancé found out about this, he and his credit card would leave me in a heartbeat.", she stressed.

"Okay, great", the young man replied, excited, "and I promise I wont forget to lock the door next time."

"You better not! We almost got caught. By the way, i don't appreciate you calling me while I'm at the restaurant with Derek.", she scolded, "If someone were to find me, in an on-call room with andintern, my great life would be over!"

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The day was finally over. Meredith was sitting on a bench, in front of the hospital's parking lot waiting for Alex. She was grateful to have such generous brother who didn't mind picking her up, even though he was coming straight from work and was probably tired. Her ringtone made her jump. Meredith took her phone her jacket and looked at the caller I.D. When she reconized the number, she put the phone to her ear.

"Hey Finn, what's up?"

"Oh, you wanna know what's up?", he said angrily, "What's up is that while I had a meeting with investors for the clinic early this morning I realized the contracts that I asked you to put in my briefcase last night weren't there. I must've looked like a complete idiot! That's what's up!"

Oh, Finn I'm sorry I-"

"You what? You forgot? God, you're so useless, Meredith!", he shouted,"you can't do anything right!"

"But Finn, I didnt mean to, I'm sorry!", she cried. The anger in his voice and the ugliness of his insults at her felt like a slap to her face. She was trying her best not to make his mad and it seemed like she had failed, once again.

"I don't want to hear your excuses. I honestly wonder what I'm doing with you. You're such a failure. All you do is screw things up.", he coldy said before hanging up.

Meredith sat on the bench, completely shocked by what had happened. She didn't understand what was going on with Finn. The last few days, he had been so sweet and generous with her and now, he was back to his old ways : angry, scary and violent.

Tears were welling up in her eyes as she was wondering how she would be able to go on this way. The horn from Alex's car was heard. She got walked to the car, opened the door and sat on the passenger's seat.

"Hey, what's wrong?", Alex said, noticing tears running down his sister's face.

"N-Nothing, nothing's wrong", she replied, forcing herself to smile.

"Come on, I can tell something's upsetting you! What is it?", he insisted.

"It's just Finn. We had a fight. Really, it's nothing.", Meredith explained drying her tears with her sleeve.

"Are you sure?", Alex asked, not entirely convinced.

Yeah, I am. Just don't mention anything when you see him tommorow, okay?", she pleaded.

"Ok, fine", he said, "I won't mention a thing."

"Promise?"

"I promise you, Mer", he replied, crossing his fingers behind his back.


	6. Escapar part 1

Diclaimer : I own nothing. Grey's Anantomy is the property of Shonda Rhimes.

Author's note : This chapter is the day after the last one. Since this is my first fan fic, I'm don't know if I'm supposed to reply to your reviews or not. I'll keep thanking you at the beggining of every chapter but if you ever have comments or questions, just pm me and it'll be my pleasure to respond. Thank you sooo much for your reviews everyone! Enjoy.

Chapter title (Escapar) is a song by Kudai.

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"If you would just do things correctly, I wouldn't have to be so hard on you", Finn stated. He was standing near the front door, facing Meredith with a suitcase next to him.

"I know.", Meredith sheepishly replied, looking at the patterns of the hardwood floor of their appartment. She had just woken up, hence the ratty t-shirt and the pyjama bottoms.

"Good. Don't do anything stupid", he warned her like a parent would to his child. "I will only be gone three days so there's not much damage you can do anyway!". Her eyes reflected the stinging in her heart as she heard, once again, one of his condescending comments.

He stepped forward to kiss her but she quickly backed away. It was a reflex. Usually when Finn came closer the way he had done, it was either to hit her or kiss her. She was never sure which one it was; Finn being so unpredictable. The words he had said to her yesterday still resonated in her mind and she was wary of any physical contact with him.

"Come over here", he barked. Meredith came closer to her boyfriend. He took his right hand and passed it through her hair, leaned down and kissed her lips with force. All she could do was let out a small whimp. He broke the contact of their mouth, opened the door and stepped outside, where Alex was already waiting for him in his car.

Meredith closed the door and leaned her back against it with her eyes closed. She sighed of relief. She was indeed relieved that she would be by herself for three days. Meredith knew it wasn't normal for a girlfriend to be so relieved that her boyfriend was gone but it's a feeling she couldn't help. Living with Finn was like being in a rollecoaster and she was grateful to hop down, even if it was of limited duration.

_Come on, gotta get ready for work._

She walked towards the bedroom to prep for the day with a smile on her face.

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Derek was sitting at the kitchen's table, drinking his coffee and going through the newpaper's ads in an uninterested manner. He was impatiently waiting for Rose to finish getting ready for the day and had read the whole thing twice. All that was left were the ads. As he was reading the selling section, he suddenly felt anger making its way inside of him. Derek put down the paper and called for Rose.

"What? What's wrong?!", she answered when she got to the kitchen of their appartment, trying to figure out why he was so mad.

"Selling trailer. In good condition. $1000 negotiable. Contact Rose at 555-265-8986." he read outloud.

" You're selling my trailer! You're selling MY trailer behind my back!", he furiously stated. He was looking at his fiancée with disbelief and anger while she stood in front of him, caught red-handed.

"I just-I was gonna tell you. Your trailer is the middle of a land. A gorgeous land. Once our house is built, we won't need the damn thing! Better to get rid of it now.", she stammered.

He could not believe his ears. He could not understand how she could possibly come up with excuses for this.

"WHAT? This trailer belongs to me! You don't get to decide what happens to it!"

"But-"

"I don't want to hear it. You are going to call the newspaper and fix this mess!", he angrily said.

Derek got up and walked towards the front door with determination. Rose quickly followed him.

"Where are you going? I'm not ready to to the hospital yet!"

"You can take a cab.", he said coldly before taking his briefcase and walking out the door.

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They had been driving for fifteen minutes when Alex spoke.

"Is everything alright with Mer?". His hands were on the steering weel and his eyes on the street.

"Yeah, everything's great. It's..ummm...it's awesome!", Finn replied, with a tad too much enthusiasm, which got a quick suspicious glance from Alex.

"Why are you asking?"

"It's just that when I picked her up last night, she was crying and said you had a fight."

"Oh, that! She was probably overracting.", he said.

"You know Mer, she doesn't cry often. She's not a crier", Alex insisted, still watching the road.

"Yeah, but you know how girls are, right?", Finn joked, which made Alex chuckle.

"Right. Did she ever tell you about her last boyfriend?", Alex asked.

"Umm..His name was Kevin. That's all I know.", he replied with a quizzical expression.

"Yeah, Kevin. They had been dating for a couple of weeks and everything was fine. He seemed like a nice guy, polite and everything. One day, I overheard him and Mer arguing. He called her a whore, a bitch and said she was worthless. The next day I was with Mer and Izzie at a bar and we saw him kissing another chick! Can you believe that?", he said with anger in his voice.

"No, I guess not", Finn nervously replied.

"I was really mad, you know? So when I saw him leaving, I ran after him. When I got in front of him, I punched him. Again and again until he was bleeding and begging me to stop. I told him if he ever tried to get in contact with Meredith, I would kill him. We never saw him again. I take my sister's well-being very seriously, Finn."

"Why are you telling me this?". Finn was folding and unfolding his fingers resting on his lap and sweat was making an appearance on his forehead. The car stopped as the streetlight went red. Alex took this opportunity to let go of the road and look directly into Finn's scared eyes.

"Because we're friends and I would really hate if something like that happened to you, you know what I mean?", he insinuated.

"Yeah, I do", he nodded hesitantly.

"Good." The light turned green and Alex concentrated back on the road and put his foot on the accelerator. The car ride to the airport continued in silence and tension.

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"In the waiting room? With people watching? Sick people?!"

"Yes, we were in the waiting room but people weren't paying attention.", Derek stated for the third time.

"I would've definately been watching!", said Mark with a sleazy smile.

The two men were having a guy talk in the plastic surgeon's office. The were sitting in front of each other, with the desk between them.

"Hey! I came to you for advice. Not to know your perverted opinion about my sex dreams.", Derek said exasperated with his best friend.

"Okay, okay. No need to get all bitchy!, Mark replied, throwing his hands up in a surrending manner.

"Why haven't I met this girl again?"

"Because I barely know her myself", he answered."I met her a couple of days ago and now, I can't get her out of my head."

"And she works here?"

"Yeah, she's an oncology resident"

"What are you going to do?", Mark asked.

"I don't know. I just-....I don't know, he said, passing his hand through his hair. "Talking to her is so easy, you know? She's beautiful, caring and simple.". His eyes glittered at the thought of Meredith and the smell of her hair. "And Rose, she's just so complicated and unnerving. She tried to sell my trailer. Behind my back." Mark opened his mouth in shock.

"Are you kidding me?!", he exclaimed. "She has some nerve! Your dad gave you this trailer."

"Yeah. She says that once our house is built, we won't need it anymore", he sighed.

"Derek, can't you see? She's using you. She only wants your money! When you're talking about this Meredith, you look happy. Happier than I've seen you in a long time."

The sound of Derek's beeper ended their conversation.

"Gotta go save lives.", Derek said, looking at the little black box attached to his waist. He got up to walk out of the office but Mark's voice stopped him.

"Addie and I are going to Joe's tonight. Wanna come?"

"Yeah, sure.", Derek replied before leaving.

He thought he would get some answers talking to Mark, but instead walked out more confused than when he came in. He did feel happy just thinking about Meredith .But the fact that he was engaged and that she had a boyfriend made things a tad difficult.

_What am I going to do?_

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"There you are! I've been looking all over for you", Izzie exclaimed as she approached her friend who was leaning against the nurse's station.

"What's up?", asked Meredith, looking up from her chart.

"We're all going over to Joe's tonight. You coming?"

"Yeah, okay.", Meredith replied with a smile.

"Perfect!", Izzie cheered in her usual bubbly voice before walking away.

It had been a while since Meredith had gone out with her friends. Finn usually wanted her to come home right after her shift so it was a good opportunity to let loose and have fun.

_A night out with friends, that's exactly what I need!, _she thought, excited.

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Next chapter will be part 2, at Joe's.


	7. Escapar part 2

**Disclaimer : I own nothing. Grey's Anatomy is the property of Master Shonda Rhimes. **

**Author's note : Once again, thank you sooo much for your reviews. I must've read them 3-4 times each cause they make me soooo happy! And thanks to Uniquegrl7 for explaining the review thing; it makes a lot more sense now! This chapter is the continuation of the last one (hence the part 2). One last thing : I realized that my profile page was blank so I updated it, if you're interested. :)**

**Chapter title (Escapar) is a song by Kudai.**

**Enjoy and review (even if it's just one word, it'll make me happy)!**

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Meredith had just finished her shift and was walking in the bar's alley. She was tired but not too tired to go to Joe's. She felt like she hadn' t had a good night out in years, when it had been only a couple of weeks. She knew the reason for it : Finn. She loved him, she still had feelings for him. Finn still had some of the qualities that made her fall in love with him two years ago. It's just that lately his flaws had been outweighing his good side and Meredith had a hard time dealing with the situation. He had changed so much since they had moved in together and it was difficult to keep up. On top of all of this, she felt guilty. Ever since she met Derek Sheperd, she had found herself daydreaming about the neurosurgeon. She knew he had a fiancée and obviously, she was taken but even those facts couldn't stop her wild imagination.

_God, what is wrong with me?! I keep screwing things up with Finn and instead of trying to fix our relationship, all I can think about is Derek. Derek Sheperd. With his dreamy blue eyes and dreamy shiny dark hair and dreamy smile....._

Once again, Meredith was drifting away thinking about Derek. She had reached the bar's entrance and was about to open the door when a "Hey, Meredith!" put a halt to her action.

**-----------------------------------------------------**

Derek had just finished a succesful brain tumor removal and was heading towards Joe's. He was in need of a drink. Something strong enough to make him temporarily forget about this morning's events. He was still angry about Rose trying to sell his trailer.

_How can she be so....so selfish. She knows how much that trailer means to me and she was ready to sell it. I can't believe this!_

However, anger was not the only thing he was feeling. That dream was still occupying his mind. He was still troubled by Meredith Grey. Naked. About to pleasure him. Just the thought of it had upped his body temperature by a few degrees. He was hoping to catch a glimpse of her today at the cafeteria but she was nowhere to be seen.

He was grateful that Mark had invited him to Joe's. It was a simple place, not fancy but not totally sleazy. Nothing like the fancy restaurants Rose worshipped. As Derek approached the bar, a familiar silhouette walking ahead of him assured him he was going to have a good night.

"Hey, Meredith!", he shouted, running to reach her.

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She turned around to face the man running behind her. When Derek got in front of her, he spoke.

"Strange how we keep meeting randomly like this", he stated, smiling.

"Yeah, it is", she replied, surprised to see him but not in a negative way.

They got lost in each other's eyes for a minute or two before Meredith snapped out of his penetrating stare.

"Are you here alone?", she asked, troubled by the way his blue eyes could make her escape reality.

"No, I'm meeting ? Ar-are you here with..ummm..with your boyfriend?", he stammered, hoping she would say no.

"No, he's in Miami for a buisness trip. I'm meeting friends too.", Meredith said with a small smile.

"Oh, ok."

Derek stepped forward to open the door behind her. He gestured for her to go first , to which she responded with a thank you and another smile.

"Mer! Over here!", Cristina shouted as she spotted her friend walk in.

"I guess I'll see you around", Meredith said, as she saw Cristina waving her hand at her.

"Yeah", Derek responded, also spotting Mark and Addison sitting at a table in the back.

They both went their separate ways : Meredith with her friends and Derek with his.

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Meredith made her way to the table where Alex, Izzie, Cristina and Owen were already seated; everyone with a drink in hand.

"Hey, guys!", she greeted as she sat down between Cristina and Izzie. They were talking about some weird surgery but stopped when Meredith arrived.

"Hey!", they all replied.

"Why were you talking to Dr. Sheperd?", inquired Izzie. All eyes turned to Meredith, which brought a nice shade of pink on her cheeks.

"Umm...what? Derek? You know him?", she asked, trying to hide the nervousness she was feeling at the mention of his name.

Four pairs of eyes widened in surprise as Meredith referred to him by him first name. Only Alex didn't look too shocked by what his sister had just said.

"Whoa, you're on first name basis! I see you know each other pretty well!", Cristina replied.

"We met a couple of days ago. What's the big deal?", asked Meredith.

"Yeah, what's the big deal?", chimed in Alex.

"You really don't know who Derek Sheperd is?", insisted Cristina.

"All I know is that he's a neurosurgeon at Seattle Grace.", Meredith replied with a blank stare. The Asian woman looked at her with an incredulous stare.

"You must beliving under a rock. We're talking about the man who save a little girl's life last month by removing half her brain!"

"I saw the sugery and let me tell you this : this man is a rock star, people. A kick-ass rock star!", replied Izze.

"He's a great surgeon, world class.", added Owen.

"Oh!", suddenly realized Meredith, "I remember that case with the little girl! That was him?". She wondered how come she had never heard him.

_I really must be living under a rock._

"Yes!", Izzie and Cristina exlclaimed simultaniously, irritated by how long it took her to connect the dots.

"I need a drink. Be right back", Meredith quckly stated, cutting the conversation short. She knew Cristina and Izzie would keep asking questions about Derek she didn't want to tell them about him. Not yet, at least.

"I'll come with you", offered Alex. She got up and went to the bar, followed by her brother.

"Hey Joe!", Meredith greeted to the tall man behind the counter.

"Meredith! One shot of tequila?", he asked with a knowing smile.

"You know me too well", she replied, laughing. Alex and her both took a seat on a stool. Joe came back and gave Meredith her shot. She swallowed the liquid and winced as it burned the inside of her throat.

"Hey...ummmm..you know when you asked me not to talk to Finn about the fight you had?", Alex hesitantly started.

"Yeah", she nodded apprehensively.

"I kinda did", he confessed, proving Meredith's fear to be true. She knew her brother enough to know he wouldn't mind his buisness and would confront Finn.

_Damn it! I knew he would open his big mouth! Why did I have to cry in front of him?! I never cry! Finn is probably so mad at me right now!_

"Alex!", she scolded. "I specifically told you NOT to do that! Why are you always interfering with my love life?! Notice the emphasis on «my»! What did you say to him?"

"Nothing! I just politely told him that I don't appreciate seeing you upset.", Alex responded, obviously hiding the true nature of his encounter with Finn.

"Well, I don't believe you! I'm sure you threatened him!", she replied, accusingly waiving her finger in front of his face.

"Mer, I'm your big brother. It's my job to protect you!", he explained. That statement got an eye roll from Meredith, to which Alex responded with a sigh.

"Listen.", he said with a serious tone. Meredith looked into her brother's eyes, seeing he had something important to say. "Ever since Mom and Dad died, it's been you and me. Just the two of us. I have to look out for you because sometimes, you're not looking out for yourself. That's how it's always been and I won't stop just because you find it annoying. That's my job, Meredith."

She smiled tenderly at her brother, knowing he had good intentions. She couldn't be mad at her brother because he didn't know how Finn reacted when he was angry.

"Come on", she said. "Let's go back to the table.". Alex put his around his sister's shoulders and she put her arm around his waist as they made their back to their table.

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"Derek!", Addison exclaimed as she saw him walking towards where she and her husband were seated. He pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Hey Mark, Addie.", he greeted back.

"Mark told me about your fight. Where's Rose", Addison asked.

"I have no idea and right now, I don't really care. Let's not talk about her, okay?", Derek replied.

"Fine by me.", said Mark. Addison's reply was nod and a discreet smile.

"Oh Mark, did you see the woman I entered the bar with?", asked Derek.

"Yeah, I did. Why?", he asked, with a quizzical expression on his face.

"That's her, that's Meredith. The girl from the dream.", he stated.

"Dude, she's hot!"

Addison looked back and forth between the two men, not understanding the current conversation.

"Who's she? What dream? Explain because I don't speak «guy»."

"It's a guy thing", Mark casually explained

"Yeah", Derek added in the same tone.

"Come on! I wanna know!", she insisted. "You know I won't stop bugging you until you answer." Addison changed her tactic and tried pouting instead. She held this expression for several seconds. It seemed to work because Derek and Mark exchanged a look that clearly showed the red head had won.

"Fine", sighed Derek." I met this girl, Meredith, a couple of days ago and I kind of can't stop thinking about her. Then, two nights ago, I had a dream about her. A sexy dream."

"Yeah, that's about it", chime in Mark.

The men observed Addison's reaction. A big smile appeared on her face.

"Oh my god, you have a crush!"

"Addie! I'm getting married in three weeks! Soon-to-be married guys don't have crushes.", he stated. Of course, Derek had a crush on her but there was no way he would admit in to his friends.

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It was now getting late and Meredith thought it was time to go home.

"I'm gonna call it a night, guys.", she announced, stretching.

"You're leaving", asked Cristina.

"Yeah, I have an early shift tommorow."

"You need a ride?", proposed Alex.

"No, my car is in the hospital's parking lot. Thanks anyway.", she smiled.

"Goodnight, everyone!", Meredith said as she got up.

They all said their goodbyes. Meredith walked across the room to exit the bar.

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Derek was absentmindedly looking around the bar, a bit bored by Addison and Mark's argument over some movie quote when he noticed her leaving. Her.

_Meredith's leaving! Maybe I can catch up with her._

"I'm gonna call it a night guys!", Derek said suddenly as he got up."See you tommorow!"

He took his coat and ran to the exit, hoping to catch up with Meredith, leaving Addison and Mark completely dumbfounded.

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"Hey, Meredith", Derek (once again) shouted, out of breath as he reached her side in Joe's Alley.

She turned round to (once again) face Derek and started lauging when she saw who was calling her name.

"Twice in one night? We're gonna set a record!", she joked which made him chuckle.

"I just saw you leaving and it's dark outside and you know, it's dangerous to wak alone when it's dark and you're pretty.", he blurted out.

_Why did I say that? She must think I'm a creep. A stupid creep!_

Meredith smiled at his rambling and at the fact that he said she was pretty.

"My car is in the hospital's parking lot. You can walk me to it if you want.", she suggested.

"Yeah sure, I need to exercise anyway.", he said trying to sound casual. In truth, he didn't want her to realise how much he wanted to be near her, even for a few minutes.

"Okay", she replied.

_He so does not need to exercise. His chest is perfect and his arms look so strong. And his ass..._

They began walking side by side towards the parking lot, across the street.

"You know , the first time we met, on the bench? You seemed sad. You had a whole «I hate being a surgeons» speech. You just-you seemed sad. Are you okay now?", she inquired, looking at him.

_She cares. She still remembers about that!_

That thought brought a bright smile to Derek's face and warmth throughout his body.

"Yeah, I'm good now. It was just a bad day. Thanks for asking.", he said genuingly, his eyes looking at hers.

"You're welcome", she replied, smiling sweetly.

They got close to the street. Derek was about to cross it when Meredith put her arm on his chest, stopping his step.

"Wait!", she exclaimed

She looked at both sides of the street before crossing, Derek following her.

"What was that for?", Derek asked, confused.

"You didn't look before crossing. It's dangerous!", Meredith replied.

Derek cocked his head to the side, looking at her, still confused. Meredith noticed the expression on his face.

"I know it's weird but my parents died in a car crash and ever since it happened, I always make sure to look on both sides efore crossing. It's an obsession.", she explained, with a sad smile as she remembered the accident.

"I'm sorry about your parents", Derek whispered.

"It's fine, it was a long time ago."

Soon, they had reached her white Honda. They stood beside it, facing each other. Neither one of them seemed willing to leave. Their eyes were locked into each other, releasing lust and intensity.

"Thanks for walking with me, Derek", Meredith said, breaking the slience.

"It's my pleasure, Meredith", Derek replied. He loved the way his name sounded coming out of her mouth. She too found the way he said her name sexy.

"Goodnight", she relunctanctly said. She unlocked her car and opened the door.

"Do you want to grab a cup of coffee with me tommorrow?", he blurted out.

She quickly turned around to face him.

_He wants to what? Like a date? He's asking me out? Oh my god!_

"W-what? Coffee?", was all she could reply.

"Yeah, coffee since you know, we're friends now and we can do friendly stuff like have some coffee. Together. Only If you want.". He knew that having coffee with another woman he found sexy and intoxicating when he was getting married soon was probably not a good idea but he didn't care.

_Finn's not here and it's just coffee. With my guy friend. Nothing wrong with having coffee with a friend._

"Yeah, I'd love too!", she said, with maybe a bit too much excitement.

Derek smile and reached into his pocket. He took out his buisness card, and gave it too Meredith.

"Call me tommorrow morning at my office and we'll set up the place and the time, okay?"

"Yeah, okay", she replied.

Meredith got inside her car and drove away. Her random encounter with Derek had put a permanent smile on her face.


	8. Let's talk

**Disclaimer : Grey's Anatomy is the property of Shonda Rhimes.**

**Author's note : Once again, thank you soooo much to all who reviewed and read my story. Also thanks to everyone who put my story on their favorites list or story alert. It means soooo much! I appreciate every comment and suggestion. This chapter is the day after the last. Enjoy and review!**

* * *

Meredith sat down on an abandonned gurney in the hallway, sighing in relief. She had been working since four o'clock and her aching feet were grateful for the short break. She took off her shoes and soon, each hand was rubbing a foot. Not only was she in pain, she was exhausted. Meredith had spent a good part of the night, lying awake in her bed, reliving every detail of her walk with Derek. She loved the easiness of their conversations every time they were together. The fact that he didn't joke or made a big deal about her weird street crossing habit was also something she appreciated.

Even though she was tired and exhausted, Meredith was excited. The rendez-vous planned with Derek last night was something she was very much looking forward to. With Finn gone on a buisness trip, she felt it was the perfect opportunity to do something impulsive, like going out with a guy she had met only met recently. Had her boyfiriend been here, she never would've said yes. Of course, she felt somewhat guilty for meeting another man behind Finn's back but she quickly dismissed that thought.

_Derek is a friend. I can have drink coffee with my friend. Besides, if anything were to happen, it's not like Finn would ever find out, right?_

The thought of doing something inappropriate with Derek Sheperd brought fire to her cheeks. She glanced at her watch.

_9h12_

It was usually around that tme that Izzie went to get a coffee at the third floor's cart. Meredith decided to go check if the blond resident was there. She put her shoes back on and marched in direction of the elevator.

----------------------------------------------------------

She found Izzie waiting in line to order her coffee as usual.

"Hey, Iz", she said cheerfully as she got to her friend's side.

"Mer! What's with the bright and shiny mood?", Izzie repied with an amused expression gracing her face.

"Nothing! I'm just in a good mood, that's all.", Meredith replied.

The person in front of Izzie gone, she ordered a french vanilla coffee. She gave the young lady behind the counter a few bills and got her drink in exchange. Meredith and her walked away from the cart.

"It's just that you don't seem like a girl whose boyfriend is gone for three days. I thought you'd be sad and lonely", she admitted.

"Sad and lonely?!", she repeated, disbelief displayed all over her face. "Finn is not dead, he's only gone for three days. Being away from your boyfriend is a good thing sometimes."

"Whatever. I know I wouldn't be as cheerful as you are if Alex went on a trip for so long."

Meredith giggled and glanced at her watch.

_Maybe it's time to call Derek now.._

"I have to go", Meredith said."See you later, okay."

"Okay", Izzie replied.

Meredith was moving towards the elevator when she realised something.

_Why would I call Derek if we're both in the hospital? I should go directly to his office. It's only logical._

She put her hand in her lab coat pocket and took out his card. As she was reading the office's room number, the elevator's doors opened. She stepped inside next to its only occupant, a dark haired nurse loudly talking on her cell phone. The woman did not seem to mind the intrusion because she kept on talking on her phone, completely ignoring Meredith.

The doors closed and Meredith pushed the twelfth floor button. She was trying not to listen to the woman's conversation but she was so loud that it was impossible not to.

_Whoa, she could tone it down a bit. No need to yell, I'm sure the other person can hear her just fine!_

"I can't believe it either, Sarah!", Rose exclaimed to the person on the phone. "In two weeks, I'm gonna be a married woman. A filthy rich married woman! It was so easy. Now, I have a fiancé **and** a young intern on the side to «release the tension» if you know what I mean. He is good in bed but that intern just blows my mind! ".

Meredith raised an eyebrow at those words and quickly glanced at the woman standing next to her.

"All I had to do was pretend to listen to his whining about his ex and let him buy me jewels and trips. He is sooooo boring though.", Rose added.

_What a gold digger! Poor man, he doesn't even know the woman he's about to marry doesn't love him and she's cheating on him!_

"He likes nature and woods and animals. Dirty, messy animals. You know me, I only do fancy and sophisticated. Just the though of living with a dog makes me gag!", she said with disgust.

Meredith refrained herself from letting out a scoff.

"Yeah, he used to but as soon as we moved in together, I gave his dog away to some kid on the street and I told him the dog ran away."

_Oh my god! What a bitch! What kind of girlfriend would do that?! What kind of __**human being **__would do that?! She has some nerve!_

Meredith was fuming inside but trying not to let it show. She couldn't believe how cruel some people could be. The elevator's ding announced they had reached the twelfth floor. Meredith hurrily stepped outside, glad to get away from that woman and her disturbing conversation. She reached Derek's office and knocked on the closed door.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, when are you going to tell me?", Addison asked Derek, who was sitting in front of her. He looked at her with confusion in his eyes.

"Tell you what?"

"Why you left so fast last night?"

"I have something urgent to do. That's all." he answered, looking down at his fingers.

"Save us both time Derek and just tell me the truth", Addison said with knowing smile.

"I don't know what you're talki-"

Derek's sentence was cut by the knocking on the door.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Come in"

At those words, Meredith opened the door and found Derek and a red headed woman behind it. Derek and Addison looked up to see who had interrupted their conversation.

"Meredith!", he exclaimed, surprised. A bright smile grew on his face which made Meredith completely forget about her anger towards the woman from the elevator.

"Hi", she replied with a smile that mirrored his. She stepped forward until she was standing next to Addison.

"What are you doing here?", he asked.

"Oh..umm..I .uummm...I figured I would go directly to your office instead of calling since we're both in the hospital. I hope I'm not bothering you.", she said, looking back and forth between him and Addison.

"Oh no,no, you're not!", he quickly said. Addison cleared her throat, wanting to make her presence known.

"Oh, I'm sorry!", Derek said, understanding Addison's gesture. "Meredith, this is Addison, my best friend and Addison, this is Meredith, my new friend."

Addison got up so they could shake hands.

"I'm gonna give you some prvivacy", Addison said

"No, no it's okay. I won't be long. I just wanted to know when you'll be free for coffee.", she said, looking at Derek.

"Um...I have a break in half an hour, we could meet at the bench where we met. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I'll bring the coffee.", she smiled. "See you later and nice to meet you Addison". The red head nodded in response and when Meredith was out of sight, her face broke into a beaming smile.

"What?", he asked, confused as to she was smiling.

"Derek! The chemistry you have together is insane! The way you were looking at her......It was hot!".

"Whatever"

----------------------------------------------------------------

Derek was sitting on the bench, waiting for Meredith. He had chased Addison out of his office so he could finish his paperwork as fast as possible. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. Derek was nervous, very nervous.

_What's wrong with me? It's just coffee. With a girl. No need to be nervous for that! Even if she's super hot and nice and caring and perfect...._

The light touch on his shoulder made him jump.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!", she giggled.

"Oh no, it's fine, it's nothing.", he nervously replied, trying not to sound like a loser. She handed him on of the two coffees she was carrying and sat down next to him.

"I didn't know how you like your coffee so I got it black, like mine. Is that okay?" she explained apprehensively.

"It's great, actually. I always take my coffee black.", he smiled.

_Something else we have in common_, he thought.

He looked over to Meredith and saw that she was watching the kids playing at the park across the street.

"You look like someone who likes kids", he observed, still eyeing her. Meredith blushed when she noticed he was looking at her.

"Yeah, I do. They will always tell you the truth, no matter what. Even if it's mean."

Derek chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"I used to love going to the park with my dad when I was a kid. He would always invent games and carry me on his back.", he sighed in nostalgia.

"I'm guessing you're too big now for him to do that.", she smiled.

"No, he died right before I graduated college.", he replied softly. Meredith looked at him in shock and symphathy.

_What an idiot! I can't believe I made a joke about his dad. His dead dad!_

She put her free hand on top of his and squezed it gently.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean t-"

"It's okay.", he whispered. She took off her hand, thinking it had been on top of his long enough.

"What were you like as a kid?", she asked, trying to lighten the mood. He smiled.

"Oh, I was a good kid. A great kid!". Meredith laughed at those words.

"Hey, it's true. I was quiet, well behaved and I was the smartest student in my classes.", he insisted.

"And very modest, too, I see.", she said with an amused tone which made Derek laugh.

"What about you?"

"Ha! I was such a girl! I loved pink and fluffy dresses. I totally believed that one day, I was gonna be a princess. I never became one, obviously.", she responded.

"You would've made a beautiful princess", he stated. Meredith looked into his eyes and smiled. He brushed his fingers across her cheek and in response, she cupped his face with her hands. Suddenly, the kids had stopped playing, the sun had stopped shining and time was standing still. Only they existed. She brought his face closer to hers with her hands. Their lips met.

With his tongue, he parted her lips and sneaked inside her mouth. They both moaned in pleasure as their tongues danced together. They both knew it was wrong and somewhere deep, deep inside they felt guilty but it strangely also felt so right. Like they were meant to be here, right now, together.

The lack of oxygen was the reason of their parting. They both were panting while staring at each other, trying to regulate their breathing and heartbeat.

"Ummm...", Meredith laughed nervously."That was....."

_Oh God that was amazing! His lips are so damn soft!_

"Unexpected", he finished.

_She tastes so good! That was awesome!_

"Yeah"

An awkward minute or two passed by before Derek cleared his throat and put a shaky hand in his lab coat pocket.

"L-let me pay you back for the coffee."

"Oh, don't. It cost 2 dollars. It's nothing, really."

"I invited you so the least I can do is pay for my coffee. I'm a gentleman!". Meredith giggled, completely charmed by his noble behavior. Derek opened his wallet and while he was trying to find a 2 dollar bill, Meredith's giggle turned into a full-blown laugh.

"What?", he quizzically asked. Still laughing, she took the wallet from him and took out what she was laughing at.

"What kind of picture is that!?", she said, waiving his driver's license in front of his face.

"So not funny! There was a bug right in my eye so I closed it and that's when the stupid clerk took the picture! And they wouldn't let me change it!".

Meredith laughed even harder at his explanation. Her laugh abruptly ended when she saw someone else's picture sticking out of the wallet.

_Oh my god! Oh my God!_

"Who is that?", she asked as she pointed at the picture, the wallet still in her hand. She asked even though she already suspected the answer to her question.

"Oh...ummm....that's Rose, my fiancée." he replied. The mention of her name brought a wave of guilt all over his body.

_Oh god! That's her. The woman from the elevator. The mean bitch who's cheating on her fiancé! Do I tell him? Oh, no I can't do that!_

Derek noticed the tension appearing on her face and the shock in her eyes.

_Is she freaking out about the kiss? Oh no, she's freaking out!_

"Meredith, what's wrong?", he asked, worried.

_How do I tell him his finacée only wants him for his money __**and**__ is cheating on him? He so doesn't deserve that! Okay, I don't know him that well but he seems like someone who doesn't deserve that. Damn it. Mer, just say!_

"Derek, I have something to tell you."


	9. When I see red, I see red

**Disclaimer : I sadly do not own Grey's Anatomy**

**Author's note : Hi everyone! Thank you for all of those who read/reviewed my story. Seriously, thank you! My summer job finally gave me more hours so I won't be able to post new chapters as fast as I want to. However I ****promise**** that you won't have to wait more than 8 days for an update! I just want to remind everyone that this story ****is**** a MerDer pairing and they ****will**** be together. They will just face some obstacles before they can be happy! This chapter contains some violence.**

**Enjoy and review (don't be shy)! :-D**

**Chapter title is a line from the awesome song "No Brakes" by The Bravery. **

* * *

"Yeah, what is it?", Derek said apprehensively. His eyes were looking into hers, searching for answers.

"It's the kiss, right? I know you have a boyfriend and I have a fiancée and I'm sorry." His body was turned towards her, anticipating her response. Meredith handed him his wallet back and took a deep breath.

"Don't be sorry, it's not about the kiss. It was good, great. It's not about that.". She paused for a few seconds, wondering how the hell she was going to break the news.

"Okay", she breathed. "I'm just gonna say it : your fiancée is cheating on you."

She studied his face, trying to see how he would react. Seconds later, Derek's eyes widened in shock, the words finally reaching his brain.

"What?! How do y-you don't even know her! What makes you think she's cheating on me?"

_I hope he doesn't think I'm crazy. I'm not crazy. I mean I saw her, I really did! That gold digging bitch!_

"I was on the elevator with her earlier today and she was talking on her cell phone with someone named Sarah. She kept saying that she's only with you for your money and that she's sleeping with an intern. I'm so sorry, Derek.", she answered with eyes full of sympathy. Derek's face went from shock to disbelief.

"Are you sure it was her?"

"I'm positive", she assured. "It's the same woman from that picture in your wallet. I'm 100% sure."

The disbelief then turned into anger. He indeed was angry at Rose but also at him. All those warnings and comments from his friends about Rose being a gold digger and all those times he had defended her, thinking she loved him genuinely. He had been played. He had no reason to doubt Meredith because one, she had no reason to lie and two, it all made sense now. He could how sincere she was.

Meredith was waiting for Derek to say something. Anything.

"Are you okay?". He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of her voice.

"Yeah, I am. I just..ummm..I need to find Rose. We have stuff to clear up.", he answered. He believed what Meredith said to be true but he needed to face Rose and to hear it from her mouth.

"Yeah sure, go." Derek out his wallet back into his lab coat pocket, took his empty coffee cup and got up.

"Thank you, Meredith for telling me. You didn't have to but you did so, thank you.", he said softly while looking into her eyes. Her reply was a small smile and a hand wave as he walked away.

She sat on the bench, still stunned at everythng that took place in just a couple of minutes when it finally hit her.

_Oh God, I kissed him! We kissed. I just cheated on Finn. I'm a cheater. What is Finn gonna say? How am I gonna tell him? Should I tell him? No, I shouldn't. He would get mad and I know what happens when he does..._

She was internally freaking out. The thing she was most guilty about was how much she enjoyed the brief contact of their lips. The way his stumble had scratched her soft skin, the way his warm hands had caressed her face and the way the proximity of their body had made her totally forget she had a boyfriend and that her name was Meredith Grey. She got up and walked towards the hospital.

_At least I have the rest of day off. I don't know if I could concentrate on patients with what just happened!_

---------------------------------------------------------------------

He took quick angry steps to the nurse's station where Rose was leaning on.

"Come with me.". He grabbed her arm and brought her into an empy on-call room.

He locked the door and turned around to face Rose, eyeing him seductively.

"Umm...you want that kind of talk". she stated. Rose closed the space between them and put her hands around his neck. He immidiately removed herself from him and stepped back.

"They warned me about you. Mark, Addison, my mom, my sisters. They all saw who you really were. You played me."

"What are you talking about?", she asked, faking confusion. Derek crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

"Cut the crap. You know damn well what I'm talking about. I can't believe how much time I wasted with you. You only want me for my money!"

"Honey, I don't know who told you these lies but you know I love you!". She stepped forward and carressed his cheek but he quickly shrugged it off.

"The worst part is you weren't even trying to hide it! A good friend of mine was with you in the elevator while you were talking on your cell phone. She heard all about how you're cheating on me and how much of a gold digger you are. You disgust me.". Derek look at her and he tried, but he couldn't see it anymore. He could not see what attracted him to her. What was it about her face or the way she spoke that made him want to marry her?

"Derek, please! I don't know what that bitch told you but she's lying! I love you. We're getting married soon. We're gonna build a house. We are made for each other! I remember that girl from the elevator. She's probably jealous of me because she's uglier than me and she wants you.", Rose pleaded.

"You don't get to call Meredith a bitch. I've known her only for a couple of days and already I can tell she's much more caring and beautiful inside and out than you will ever be! I'll live in the trailer for a couple of days until you move out your stuff and find someplace else to live."

Derek wasn't even angry anymore. He was just relieved. A weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He was now seeing the Rose everyone else was seeing. The selfish, materialistic, lying woman.

He turned around and before opening the door, he calmly spoke.

"I kissed her today. Meredith. I kissed and I don't even feel bad because you don't love me. You love my credit card but you don't love me. Just move out and forget I even exist."

With that said, he unlocked the door and walked out, leaving a dumbfounded Rose behind.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Finn?", she shouted, seeing his belongings in the entrance."Are you home?".

She closed the front door of her appartment and picked his jacket off of the floor, next to his suitcase.

"I'm in the kitchen!", he answered. She made her way to the the kitchen and found him sitting on a chair, sipping from a beer bottle.

"Hey, you were supposed to come back only tommorrow. Did something happened?", she inquired, standing in front of him.

He ignored her question, put down his beer and crossed his arms.

"Did you have fun while I was gone?"

"I worked a lot so I didn't have to time to go out.". He took the beer bottle and smashed in against the wall, which made Meredith flinch and scream in shock. Beer and pieces of glass were now decorating the floor.

"Don't you dare lie to me!", he barked. He got up, facing her.

"Pete saw you walking out of Joe's with a man yesterday night. He said you too looked like you knew each other very well."

"What? Your friend Pete saw me? I don't understand.", she replied

"Did you really think I was gonna leave you here, unsupervised?", he said with a sarcastic laugh.

"You had me followed?", she disbelievingly asked.

"You are my property so I have the right to do whatever I want in order to make sure you behave.", he coldly stated.

"You do not own me!", she said defiantly

"What?!". Finn closed the space between them and took hold of her wrist . He then proceeded to twist it sharply and with force.

"Oww! You're hurting me!"

"Shut up!"

Finn suddenly pushed her. He did so hard she lost her balance and collapsed on the floor. She winced in pain as shards of glass entered the palm of her left hand.

"And what the hell did you say to Alex, huh?!", he added, kicking her in the ribs as she was trying to get back up. She hit the ground once again and cried in pain.

"Stop it, please!"

"Why? So you can go to Alex and open your big mouth again?!"

He kicked her once again and asked her to get up.

_I have to get out of here! I gotta find a way to get the hell out of here!_

Meredith slowly but surely got up in front of Finn.

_Come on Mer! You can do this. You can do this!_

She mustered up all the strength she could, put her right hand on Finn's shoulder and hit him in the groin. He kneeled down and came harshly to the ground as he held his package, screaming.

She took this opportunity to run to the front door. By that time, tears were already rolling down her cheeks and wetting her lips. She took her car keys and ran as fast as she could outside to her car. Meredith opened the door and got inside.

_What to do? I should go to the hospital._

She drove away in direction of Seattle Grace to have her injuries examined, probably by Cristina, George or Izzie. Fifteen minutes later, when she turn off the engine in the hospital's parking lot, she took a minute or two to examine the damage Finn had cause.

_Oh God! Ouch!!!_

Even the slighest movement multiplied the pain she was feeling in her ribs.

_I'm sure they're broken, damn it!_

She looked closely at her hand and could see dozens of entry points with glass inside. She was also unable to move her left wrist, the pain being too great.

"I'm pretty sure that's broken too!", she sadly whispered. The tears that had dried since she had left where beggining to reappear. She took a deep breath got out of her car, not without grimacing. The walk to the clinic was usually short but felt like hours for Meredith. As soon as she entered, she spotted Cristina sitting at the desk in the desert area looking bored out of her mind .

"Cristina!", she shouted. The asian doctor's head shot up and her expression changed from bored to worried.

"What the hell happened to you?!", she shouted as she ran over to her friend's side, easing her on a bed.

"Ouch! It's a long story but don't worry, I'm fine", Meredith replied.

"Yeah, I can totally see that", Cristina muttered sarcastically.

"Oh my God! Meredith, what happened?!", Derek said as he walked through the doors of the clinic.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

"I broke up with Rose", Derek said as he sat down next to Mark at the cafeteria. The plastic surgeon stopped struggling to open his sandwich wrapper and gave a blank stare to his best friend.

"You what?"

"Yeah, I'm done with her. She was cheating on me and she only wanted me for my money!"

"Might as well just say it now : me and the entire planet told you so! What took you so long?!"

"I know, I know. I should've listened to you and Addie.", Derek admittted which made Mark smirk. "But don't let it go to your head, though. You're not always right!"

"Yeah, yeah. Now you can focus on that hot chick form the bar last night. Addison told me all about your little meeting today.", he said with a little wink.

"Can she ever keep anything to herself?!", Derek wondered outloud.

Mark chuckled and looked at his watch.

"I have to go scrub in. Could you go down to the clinic? I left my cell phone on the desk and I don't have time to go get it . It cost me $600 so I don't want it to get stolen."

"Sure", Derek agreed. Mark got up and left.

_I'm free now. Maybe I have a chance with her. But damn, she still has a boyfriend...._

Once again, Meredith was completely occupying his mind as he took the elevator and reached the first floor. When he opened the door of the clinic, what he saw was not something he expected. Meredith was sitting on a bed, looking like she had lost a wrestling match.

"Oh my God! Meredith, what happened?!"


	10. Noticed

**Disclaimer : I own nothing. Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes**

**Author's note : Hi everyone!!! Let me begin by profusely apologizing for being late with this chapter. I moved two days ago and my Internet got cut off and I have to unpack a ton of boxes on top of having to go to work. Anyways, I'm really really really sorry! A ginormous thank you to each and everyone who read/reviewed my story. You make writing so gratifying and worth it so thank you very much. Enjoy and review (don't be shy!!).**

**Chapter Title is a song by Mute Math (awesome song!!!)**

* * *

Derek jogged her side.

"I'm fine! Don't worry, it's nothing."

"Are you kidding me? It's not nothing, Meredith! Who did this to you?". Derek took a look at her bleeding hand and the dried tears on her cheeks and felt something overpower him. That something felt like sadness because seeing her in that state was truly heart-wrenching and anger at the fact that whatever had happened to her had left so hurt.

_I can't tell them what really happened! I just can't. Finn would be furious. I have to think of something...._

"I tripped on the parking lot", Meredith lied, eyeing the floor. Cristina and Derek both shared a confused look.

"You tripped? You look like someone beat you up!", Cristina replied.

"Yeah, there was a big rock on the sidewalk and I tripped on it."

"But look at your wrist? You can barely move it. How do you get that from just tripping?", Derek asked.

"I must have twisted it while hitting the ground", she nervously replied.

_What's with all the questions? Why can't they just believe my damn story! Why am I such a bad liar?! Damn it._

"Yeah but-"

Cristina sentence was interrupted by the sound of her pager. She looked at the message and her face lit up.

"Finally, some action! ", she exclaimed which got a raised eyebrow from Derek and a head shake from Meredith."Mer, they need me upstairs. I'll call you later. Can you take care of her, ?".

"Of course", he said. Cristina ran out of the clinic, leaving Derek and Meredith alone.

"Let me take a look at your hand.". She put her right palm up so he could examine it.

"I'll go get some gauze and a tweezers to get the pieces of glass out."

Meredith drew a shaky breath as she watched Derek searched inside a closet for the items. The fight with Finn had left her completely shattered. For a second, she had thought that maybe he wouldn't stop kicking and would keep going until she was unconscious. Or worse. Just thinking about him made her heart beat faster and her eyes moisten. The look in his eyes when had thrown the bottle against the wall had completely shocked and frightened her, She had felt so scared and vulnerable the whole time he had beaten her.

Derek returned to Meredith's side with worry displayed all over his face as he saw her eyes full of tears.

"Hey, what's wrong?", he asked softly. She laughed nervously and shook her head.

"Nothing, its nothing. I just had a crappy day.", she answered.

_But what about our coffee this morning? I thought we had a good time. Well, except for her telling me my fiancée was cheating but overall, I though it went great._

His face mirrored his thoughts, which didn't go unnoticed by Meredith.

"Oh no, it's not what I meant!", she exclaimed, realising her mistake. "I mean this morning with you was good but the rest of the day was kind of crappy.". Derek flashed her a dreamy smile which made Meredith glad she was sitting because if she had been on her feet, the way he was looking at her probably would have made her knees go weak.

"Give me your hand", he said. She put her palm up, the same way she had done earlier. He delicately took her hand in his and began taking the glass out with the tweezers.

"Oww", she winced in pain.

"I'm sorry!", he said, feeling bad that he was hurting her.

Twenty minutes later, her hand was glass free and Derek was finishing the bandage on her wrist.

_What am I gonna do now? I can't go back home! Finn might still be there and I know he's still mad at me. I can't go to Alex's or Cristina's because he would ask too many questions_.

"All done!", he stated.

"Thank you", she softly answered."Oh, by the way, how did it go with Rose?"

"Ummm...it was okay, I guess. I just feel better now that she's out of my life, you know? I'm not even sad or angry anymore, just relieved", he replied. Meredith smiled interiorly because she glad that a selfish and cruel woman like Rose was out of his life.

"That's good but aren't you living together since you were engaged? How is that gonna work out?."

"I have a trailer on a land just outside of Seattle.", he started."I'm going go there for a couple of days until she moves out. I'm going there tonight actually."

"You have a trailer? Seriously?", she asked, amused.

"Yeah, I do. It's a very quiet and beautiful place. It's where I go when I need to breathe or think. It was supposed to be my graduation present from my dad."

_Great view, quiet a place with a lake. Sounds like something I could use. I need to get away from Finn today. Maybe I should ask him if I can't come too.... What if he says no? Maybe he wants to be alone. Or, maybe he'll say yes! No harm in asking, right?_

"Ummm...would it be okay if I came with you tonight? To the trailer, I mean.", she asked shyly. "I need to get away too."

Derek was taken aback by her suggestion. That is not something he was expecting although it sounded very tempting.

"But you're hurt. You should probably go home and rest", he replied, genuinely worried bout her health.

"I don't want to go home. I had a fight with my boyfriend and I just want some peace and quiet. I'll get some sleep in an on call room ", she added with a smile, trying to convince Derek.

The pain in her ribs had lessened and the thought of going somewhere alone with Derek and to get away from Finn was really exciting.

Derek knew it was wrong but he felt a tinge of happiness deep inside his heart hearing how she wanted to get away from her boyfriend. Maybe, just maybe, he had a chance with her.

He glanced at his watch.

_4h47pm_

"Okay then", he gave in with a bright smiled."But the second you don't feel well I'm taking you back. I have to go scrub in for a surgery for but we can meet at 8 at the hospital's entrance?"

"Sure, I'll get some sleep in an on-call room in the meantime.". He smiled and turned around to go to the desk. he quickly spotted Mark's cell phone next a chart. Derek grabbed it and left the clinic. Meredith slowly got up from the bed.

_I'm fine. My wrist still hurts and my ribs too but I feel well enough to go with Derek._

She took her car keys on the bed and walked in direction of a free on-call room.

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"Mer, what are you doing here?", Crisitina asked as he saw her friend on a chair, near Seattle Grace's main entrance.

"Oh Cristina!", she exclaimed, startled."I'm...umm..waiting for a friend."

"Who?"

"Derek."

"Why?"

_I can't tell her I'm going to his trailer! She would start asking questions again._

"He's giving me a ride home.", she replied, looking down which made Cristina eye her suspiciously. Meredith's ring tone cut the conversation. She took her phone out of her bag and looked at the caller ID.

_Oh no, it's Finn! Should I answer? If I don't answer, he'll get even angrier!_

"Are you gonna answer that?", Cristin asked with a quizzical expression.

"Yeah, yeah." She took a deep breath and answered.

"Finn"

"Where the fuck are you?!", Finn yelled though the line."You better be on your way home right now!"

Meredith's usually bright eyes suddenly darkened. She ended the conversation without responding to Finn and turned off her phone.

"Whoa! What was that all about?"

"What do you mean?"

"He was yelling so loud, I could hear his voice from where I'm standing!", the Asian resident exclaimed.

"We just had a little fight, it's nothing. Don't worry.", she replied, lying once again.

"Okay, if you say so....I'll talk to you tomorrow then"

"Okay, bye", she replied, watching her friend walk away. At that same moment, she saw Derek come out of the elevator, walking towards her and looking as dreamy as always.

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"Hey", the plastic surgeon greeted, standing in the doorway of Derek's office.

"Hey", Derek answered back, putting his jacket on and grabbing his keys.

"You still going to your trailer tonight?"

"Yeah, why?", he asked furrowing his brows.

"I was just thinking we could have a beer tonight and celebrate your freedom!", Mark answered with a wide grin.

_Crap, I cant go out with him. If i told him I'm going with Meredith to my trailer alone, he would ask way too many questions and he would tell Addison, who would then tell everyone else._

"Ummm...actually, I think I want to go to the trailer alone and clear my head. I just broke up with Rose and I guess I need some alone time to ...ummm..think....about myself. Alone. You know?"

Mark looked at Derek suspiciously.

"Okay...if that's what you need, man."

"Yeah, it is. Thanks for understanding.", Derek quickly replied, giving his friend a at on the back and walking past him. He was supposed to meet Meredith at 7h and he was now 5 minutes late. He hurried inside the elevator and pressed the first floor button. Soon, the door opened to let him out. He got out and instantly, as though they were connected, his eyes found hers.

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The abrupt stop Derek made once they arrived at the trailer woke Meredith up on the passenger seat of his truck.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up like that. We're here.", Derek announced with a proud smile. He loved showing off his trailer because of how much it meant to him. Derek got out of the car and hurried to the other side to get the door for Meredith.

_He's opening the door for me?! This man is perfect, absolutely perfect!_

She got out of the car with a thank you and a smile.

"Come with me, I'll show you inside.", he said, reaching with his hand for hers. She blushed and put her hand in his as they walked towards the trailer. Inside, there was a mini kitchen, a mini living room, a mini fridge.....Everything, from the bed to the shower was made small and compact.

"This is such a cool place!", she exclaimed as she sat on the bed."I bet you take a lot of road trips with it."

"Not as much as I would like.", he replied, sitting next to her."But every now and then, I come here and I fish."

"I used to go fishing with my dad and my brother all the time when I was younger.", she sighed in nostalgia.

"You have a brother?", he inquired, looking into her eyes.

"Yeah, it's just me and about you?"

"I have four sisters so I'm the only guy.", he answered."I'm the overprotective, annoying brother.".

That statement got a laugh from her.

"Alex, my brother is the exact same way. He would scare off every guy who had a crush on me back in high school. I used to hate him for that!", she said with an amused tone.

"Wow, I was doing the same thing back then! Except I had not one but four beautiful sisters so it was hard to keep up with all the guys."

Meredith smiled at what Derek had just said. She somehow felt safer with him. She loved the fact that he was the kind of man who protects women and opens the car door for them. He resembled Alex in that way and that's something she really appreciated in a man. From that point , the conversation carried into many different subjects. Childhood memories, embarrassing moments, favorites foods, places they'd love to travel to. Two hours passed and it was dark outside and time for Meredith to get back. Derek yawned, a sign that he was getting sleepy which didn't go unnoticed by her.

"Come on, I'll drive you home.", he said, taking out his car keys.

"You can barely keep your eyes open! It wouldn't be safe for you to to drive or me, cause I'm exhausted too.", she stated, letting out a yawn. "It's been a long day."

"Yeah, I know."

"You know......I don't mind sleeping here. I mean, we're both too tired to drive and it's late..Only if you want too.", she suggested.

_Finn would be so mad if he knew what I just said but I don't care. Today, I just don't care._

"I think it's a good idea but are you sure? You were hurt today and the bed is not that comfortable.", he said, once again tempted by what she was offering. As much as he like the idea of sleeping near her, he was also concerned with her well-being.

"Yes, I'm sure.", she reassured him.

"Okay, he smiled as he got on his feet."You can take the bed and I'll sleep outside. I have a sleeping bag."

"Derek, no! This is your trailer and it's your bed! You have to take the bed.", she insisted, also standing up.

"Meredith, you are my guest! There's no way I'll let you sleep outside! Besides, you need somewhere more comfortable to lay on than grass. I insist.", he said, leaving no place for arguing.

"Okay, fine.", she gave in. He grinned, satisfied with the outcome of their little argument. As much as he wanted to sleep next to her in the bed, he knew she had a boyfriend and was obligated to respect their relationship. He walked over to a shelf and took out his sleeping bag.

"I'll be outside if you need anything. Good night, Meredith", he said, standing near the doorway

"Good night, Derek and thank you". He closed the door, leaving her alone in the trailer,

She took off her shoes and her sweater before carefully crawling on the bed because her rins and her wrist were still hurting. She was now wearing a light green tank top and her jeans. As she laid her head on the pillow, Derek's scent traveled to her nostrils. She felt butterflies knowing he was sleeping just a few feet away from her. This is something she had never felt before. Lately, anytime she smelled Finn's aftershave, bad memories and pain instantly filled her brain. Meredith closed her eyes foolishly wishing life were as simple as it seemed to be anytime she was with Derek.


	11. Just call my name

**Disclaimer : I own nothing. Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes. **

**Authors note : Hi everyone! Thank you sooo much for reading/reviewing once again! I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter. This one is a bit shorter but the next one will be longer. There's a part inspired from re-watching "My best friend's wedding". As always, enjoy and don't forget to leave a review! :-D**

* * *

Derek winced in pain as he walked back towards the trailer, two fishes and a fishing stick in hand. His muscles were sore from sleeping on the ground but he didn't mind the pain. It was worth it for if Meredith could have a good night's sleep. She had seemed so sad and hurt the previous night. He might not have known her for a long time but he could definitely tell something was wrong. Derek slowly opened the door and tiptoed inside.  
_Just one look. Just for a second._  
He could not help himself. He moved to the back of the trailer towards the bed. There she was. Peaceful, breath-taking, beautiful. She was laying on her back, hair spilled all over his pillow and her tank top pulled up, revealing a small and firm waist.  
_What the hell? What is that?! _  
He quickly approached the bed to take a closer look at her mid section. Traces of old yellow and brown bruises were decorating her skin. He delicately lifted her top higher (but not too high) and the sight was not pretty. Her ribcage was also covered in bruises. Recent bruises. In fact, theses bruises looked like they could be several hours or a day old.  
_How in the world did she get so messed up? She must've gotten those yesterday but how the hell did this happen? Why didn't she say anything? It must've been painful. _  
Derek pulled her top back and went to the kitchen area. While he was cooking the fishes, he was still shaken by his discovery.  
_Yesterday, she said she fell. But how can one get so many bruises on their ribcage from just tripping on the sidewalk? Something's not adding up. _  
Derek was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice Meredith sitting upright on the bed. The delicious smell of fried fish and the beaming sunlight had woken her up from a stress-free sleep, even with all the crap that happened yesterday. Usually when Finn was violent, it would leave her scared, trembling and sometimes insomniac. Not this time. She didn't know if it was the serenity of the trailer of the fact that Derek was so close-by that made it so damn easy to relax and rest.  
"Good morning", she greeted, eyeing him while he was plating the fish. At the sound of her voice, he turned around and an ear-to-ear smile appeared on his face.  
"Hey, good morning! Did you sleep well? I know the bed is not the most comfortable.", he replied. She giggled at his concern.  
"I slept great actually. I needed that. Thank you for letting me stay the night, Derek.", she gratefully said.  
"You're welcome", he answered."The food is ready. I hope you like fish."  
"I love fish!", she exclaimed.  
"Well great", he chuckled."I'll put everything on the table outside."  
"Okay, I'll join you in a minute.". Derek took the food and left the trailer. She got up and put her pants and her jacket back on, careful not to hurt her wrist. She then sat on the bed, put her shoes on and went outside to the table where Derek, a plate of fish and a cup of coffee were waiting for her.  
She smiled as she sat down.  
"Wow, this is amazing Derek!", she exclaimed as she swallowed her first bite.  
"Thank you!", he replied, relieved that she liked it. They spent the next few minutes eating in a comfortable silence, quietly enjoying each other's company. Meredith broke the silence. She had something on her mind.  
"Are we still friends?", she asked with worry in her eyes. Derek put his fork on the plate and looked at her quizzically.  
"What? Of course we are! Why are you asking me this?". He tried to think of something he might have done or said to offend her or to make her believe they weren't friends. Nothing came to mind.  
"It's just that we're friends but we kissed and I have a boyfriend. I don't want things to be weird or awkward between us."  
"Are they?"  
"No.", she admitted.  
"Then there's no problem.", he softly answered."The kiss was great but I know you have a boyfriend and I respect that. So yes, we're friends. We're good.". A small slap of disappointment hit him in the face as he said those words. What he wanted most was to kiss her again and start something with her. However, every time he let himself fantasize about being with her, he was instantly reminded by the fact that she was taken. She was off-limits.

Meredith smiled at his answer. She was glad things were not complicated between them.  
_Everything is so easy with him, always so simple. _

_------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Derek and Meredith walked side by side through the hospital's entrance until they reached the elevator.  
"Yo go ahead, I have to go to the bathroom." she said, as the doors opened.  
"Okay, have a nice day.", he smiled, getting inside the cabin.  
"You too", she replied. She made her way to the first floor's bathroom, completely unaware that a certain brunette had watched the whole thing from afar.

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Meredith entered the ladies' room and stood in front of the sink. Two women were applying make-up next to her and another one was desperately trying to get a stain out of her top. Meredith splashed water on her face. She had a great morning but it didn't stop the nervousness she was feeling. She knew she would have to come back home or call Finn soon and she could only imagine how angry he would be. Suddenly, the doors opened and Rose entered the bathroom.

"Hey you, the bitch who stole my man!", she yelled to Meredith. All actions paused and jaws dropped. The women stopped what they were doing to watch the scene unfold.  
_What the hell? That's Derek's ex fiancée! Stole her man? _  
"What? I have no idea what you're talking about!", she replied to Rose who was now standing in front of her, arms crossed.  
"Don't play dumb with me! You opened your big mouth told Derek I was cheating on him and that I wanted him for his money and he left me! All thanks to you!"  
"Oh shit!", said the woman with the stained shirt but Meredith didn't hear it. She was too mad and shocked to hear anything. She was already stressed about Finn. She did not need this. Not today.  
_Oh, no! I can't believe this. Is she trying to pin this on me?! _  
"You have some nerve! **You **cheated and **you** manioulated him. All I did was tell the truth to my friend. If he dumped you, that's on you. Only you!"  
"Damn right", another woman said.  
"Oh your friend?, Rose scoffed."Then why did I saw the two of you walk in together this morning, looking like a couple?!"  
"That's none of your buisness. Derek is my friend and I care about him. I didn't even tell him about how you gave his dog away because he would be devastated!"  
A cascade pf gasps were heard from the three women.  
"Oh shut up", Rose barked to them. She returned her attention to Meredith who stepped closer to her. Their faces were only a couple of inches apart. Her voice was calm, but threatening.  
"Derek is not your 'man' anymore so leave him and me alone. You are nothing to him anymore, you don't exist so get lost. If you ever hurt him again, I will kick your ass. I used to wrestle with my brother so know that I will seriously mess up your pretty face. Got it?"

Meredith was so grateful to Derek fo taking care of her. The least she could do was look out for him, her own way.  
Her menace seemed to have an effect on Rose because her face turned into a ghostly shade of white. The three women stood there, mouths opened, probably shocked that such a petite woman could sound so scary. Meredith, satisfied with the brunette's reaction, walk away and left the bathroom with a smirk.

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Outside, at lunchtime, Izzie, Cristina, George and Alex were sitting at a table, eating. There was a free chair next to Cristina for Meredith who was running late.  
"And she hasn't called him yet?", asked George.  
"Nope", replied Alex."Finn called me this morning and he was worried Meredith didn't come home last night and she hasn't called him."  
"That's so not like her to do something like that.", observed Izzie.  
"Did she tell you what happened yesterday?", Cristina asked. Everyone nodded a 'no' with their heads.  
"I was working in the clinic yesterday and Meredith walked in. She looked like someone beat her up badly. I asked her what happened and she said she fell. I know she was lying but why?"  
Alex' eyes widened at Cristina's words.  
"Is she okay?!", he asked.  
"Yeah, she's fine but she seemed upset. Something's going on and she's not telling us."  
"She really is acting weird lately. Last week, I gave her a ride home ad she was crying. She never cries. She said she had a fight with Finn."  
"Yesterday, I saw her in the entrance and Finn called. He was yelling at her so loud through the phone, I could hear it!"  
"He was yelling?", asked Izzie with disbelief in her tone.  
"Yep."  
"Have you notic-". Cristina's question was left in the air when Meredith appeared.  
"Hey. Sorry I'm late, I had to check up on a patient."  
Why are they all looking at me like that?  
"Is everyone okay...?", she said, uneasy with the attention given to her.  
"Oh, yeah, we're good. Sit down.", George urged, motioning for her to sit next to Cristina.  
"Mer, why didn't you call Finn? And where were you last night?", inquired her brother."He's been blowing my phone since yesterday."  
"We just had a little fight and I got paged last night but I forgot to tell him.", she lied.  
"Okay well you can tell him that yourself because I told him we were all having lunch today so he should be here any minute now.", Alex casually answered.  
"H-He's coming here now?", Meredith nervously asked.

_Oh God! He's coming now! He's gonna be so mad! What am I gonna do?_


	12. Save me

**Disclaimer : I own nothing. Grey's Anatomy is the property of Shonda Rhimes.**

**Author's note : Holla everyone! Thank you so much for taking the time to for read/review. This chapter is not really longer but things are definitaly moving along. Enjoy and don't forget to review. I apologize for any typos or bad spelling. :-)**

* * *

"Yeah, that's what I said. Are you okay? You don't look so good.", Alex said.

"Umm..me? Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired.", she replied, hoping it would erase the confused expression on her brother's face. It didn't.

"Let me take a look at yout wrist.", Alex ordered which go an eyeroll and a frustrated sigh from his sister. She complied and put her wrist in his expecting hand.

"You should put some ice on it.", he recommended with confidence after a 2 second examination.

"That's always his answer to every injury. 'Put some ice on it'!", Izzie joked, mimicking her husband's voice. The whole table, including Alex erupted into laughter. Meredith was glad for the mood lightening. She needed something to take her mind off of what was to come.

"How are things going with Owen and the wedding?", Meredith asked while taking a fry out of her brother's plate.

"It's going great. Except he wants me to take my mom to go wedding dress shopping. He says we need to ­'bond'". She let out with a frustrated sigh air quoting the word 'bond'. "I don't do bonding. I told him if he forced me to go with her, I would go on a sex strike."

"Did it work?", George inquired, taking two fries out of Alex's plate.

"You bet it did!", Cristina triumphly answered. "Now, he does anything I want. All I have to do is mention sex and strike strike in the same sentence and he suddenly becomes my own personal servant.", she added, surronding by four pairs of impressed eyes.

"I should take notes", Izzie realized as she snatched a can of Coke from her husband's hand and took a long sip. His face turned into a mixture of frustration and disbelief.

"Get your own food, people!", he exclaimed."I swear to God, if I see one more hand in my food, fingers will be cut off."

Like some sick coincidence, it's at the mention of violence that Finn appeared at the table.

"Hey Finn.", George greeted.

Meredith's eyes widened, her heartbeat quickened and her hands were tightly wrapped together.

_Here we go. Please don't be too mad, please don't be too mad._

"Hey", Finn replied as he went to stand behind Meredith, hands on her shoulders. She turned and lifted her head to look at him.

_He looks calm, very calm. Maybe he's not mad. I hope he's not mad!_

"What brings you to Seattle Grace? today", George asked.

"I just came to see if my girlfriend was okay.", he answered. Finn lowered his gaze to look into Meredith's eyes. "Where were you last night? You could've called at least! I left tons of messages on your voicemail. I was worried sick."

To everyone else, it looked like a boyfriend genuingly worried about his girlfriend, making sure she was safe and sound. But Meredith knew better than that. She could see it in his eyes, the anger. She could already see the ice packs and the bruises his rage would bring. Her eyes previously bright from the light hearted conversation had turned into a dark green.

"I'm sorry, I was on my way home but I got page and I didn't have time to call." She got an intense stare from him as a response. He was probably trying to figure out if she was telling the truth or not. He did that a lot. She looked away from him, umconfortable with him looking down on her this way.

"We'll talk about it at home. Come on". he ordered which made Meredith's brows furrow in confusion as well as everyone's around the table.

_What? Go home now?_

"But Finn, it's noon. My shift just started. I can't leave now."

"Baby, you don't look so good. I think you're coming down with something. Wouldn't it be better to go home with me and rest?", he insisted, increasing the pressure on her shoulders.

She looked up to him and it was clear. Clear that he would win, he always did. She would give in and they would go home and he would beat her.

_Better now than later. Let's get this over with._

"Yeah". She turned her attention back to her friends with a sad smile.

"I don't feel so good, like he said. I'm gonna go home and rest."

"You okay, Mer?", Alex said, narrowing his eyes at Finn.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Bye guys.", she waved. Meredith stood up and walk away with Finn, leaving a table full of incomprehension.

Finn took her hand and dragged her out of the cafeteria and in the parking lot to his car. He slammed Meredith's thin frame against it and firmly held her jaw in his right hand, making her whimp.

"When we get home, I'll make sure you never forget who's the boss around here.", he barked, his mouth only inches away from hers. She looked away, incapable of meeting his intimidating glare.

_Derek! Derek's here. Oh my God!_

The blue-eyed neurosurgeon was a couple of feet away, running towards her.

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"Guess what!", Addison exclaimed to Derek and Mark as she barged in her husband's office. They shared a look of confusion, both seated in front of each other at Mark's desk.

"What?", they simultaneously asked. Addison stepped forward and sat in her usual spot; Mark's lap.

"Your ex-fiancée, whose name shall not be mentionned and Meredith had a cat fight in the ladie's room this morning. Some nurses were talking about it.", she exictedly explained which led to a shocked gasp from Derek and an amused smile form Mark.

"Meredith? You mean the girl you had your little coffee date with?"

"Yep, baby.", Addison answered, her fingers through his hair.

"What happened?! How?", Derek inquired.

_She seemed fine when I left her this morning. Not angry or anything._

"Apparently, Rose said to Meredith it was her fault that if you and her were broken up. Meredith did not like it and said that if she tried to contact you, she would beat her up."

"Beat her up? Seriously?", Derek exclaimed with eyes widened while Mark's laughted filled the office.

"Wow, she's got balls", the plastic surgeon said, impressed.

_She threatened someone for me? I can't believe it!,_he thought with a bright smile. No one had ever done this for him before, let alone a woman. It was pretty cool and impressive and flattering. Mostly flattering.

"I think it's pretty clear she's into you", Addison stated with a wink.

"You think so? She has a boyfriend.", wondered Derek

"Dude, come on!", Mark exclaimed. "She physically threatened someone for you. I think that's a dead giveaway."

"Yeah, maybe", he sighed as he stood up."I have to go finish packing my stuff at home. See you later.". He left the office, replaying Addison's story in his mind.

_How could Rose blame what happened on Meredith. That's insane. And Meredith making threats...very hot._

His mind wandered in dirty thoughts from the office to the first floor. He walked out of the hospital and ventured into the parking lot. He spotted his vehicule and was walking towards it when something put a halt to his actions. A couple of away was Meredith with a man yelling and holding her but not in an endearing and loving manner. Derek ran towards them, balling his fists.

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Alex watched his sister walk away from their table suspisiously. He furrowed his brows and stood up.

"Alex, where are you going?", Izzie asked her husband.

"I just have something to take care of. I'll see you at home honey", he replied. Alex bend down and gave her a kiss on the cheek before running away from the cafeteria.

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_"_Meredith, is there a problem?", Derek asked as he approached the couple. At the sound of his voice, Finn let go of Meredith and turned around.

"Who the fuck are you?", Finn loudly demanded. Derek ignored his question, his gaze still on her.

"Is he bothering you?". Meredith looked up to him with despair and sadness in her eyes. she was so scared. Scared of what would happen if she said: ' Yes, he's bothering me. He's been beating me for the past weeks and I can't take it anymore'. Merdith wanted to say it so badly but fear was holding her back.

"No. Everything's fine, Derek. We were just on our way home.", she replied, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

"Are you sure?", he insisted, not buying her story for a second.

"Listen, buddy, she says she's fine, I'm fine, everyone's fine. Now, get lost. Meredith, get inside", Finn ordered, going around his car and entering in the driver's seat.

"Meredith-"

"No, Derek, I'm fine, really", she said before entering the car. Finn put the key in the ignition and quickly drove away. Suddenly Derek gasped.

_The bruises,all those times she looked sad, her accident yesterday. It was all him. He's abusing her. _

"What' wrong with Meredith?", Alex asked walking towards Derek. He had seen Finn holding Meredith and heard Derek asking her if she was okay.

"What?", Derk responded, startled."You know Meredith?"

"Yeah, I'm her brother."

"I think her boyfriend is beating her."

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	13. The rescue mission

**Disclaimer : I own nothing. Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes.**

**Author's note : Hi everyone!!! All the reviews you wrote gave me so much inspiration! Thank you sooo much. I think the title pretty much explains what happens in this chapter. Enjoy and don't forget to review!**

* * *

"Wait, what?", Alex asked Derek, completely confused. Derek ran a frantic hand through his dark hair.

_We have to do something. Fast. Really fast!_

"Look, we have to go now! Your sister is in danger. The guy she was with looked like he was about to beat her right here, in the parking lot. I heard him threaten her. He said they were going home. You know where that is, right?"

"Yeah yeah, I do.", said now a very worried Alex.

"Okay then, let's go. My car is right there.", Derek replied, pointing to his car. He took out the keys in his pocket and handed them to Alex. "We have to hurry, come on!". Alex quickly followed Derek to the car. They got inside and flew out of the lot. Alex drove fast, really fast.

"So, tell me what hapened. And who are you?", Alex inquired as he turned the wheel to take a left.

"I'm Meredith's friend. We met recently. You heard what happened to her yesterday?"

"Yeah, I did. Her wrist is really messed up."

"She claimed that she tripped on the sidewalk but that's impossible. She had bruises old and new all over her ribs so I think it has been going on for a while. Today, I was walking to my car and I saw him holding her by the mouth and yelling at her. She told me it was fine but it clearly wasn't. I heard him say that he would 'show her who's the boss' when they got home."

"I'm the one who introduced them! Damn it! She's my baby sister. I should have protected her"

"You couldn't have known. It's not your fault. I really care about her too, you know and I really wish I could've done something.". Alex quickly glanced at Derek's sad expression.

"I can see you really care, man.", Alex stated with sincerity, hands fiercly holding the wheel which got a nod in response.

_I hope it's not too late. He will pay for this._

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Meredith jumped at the sound of Finn slamming the front door. She sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for him. Waiting for it to be over. By now, tears had already made their way to her chin. When Finn came into the bedroom, he had a belt in his hand.

"I'm sure this will help to get my point across cause you to be slow lately.", he declared, standing in the doorway. He tightly wrapped half of the belt in his hand, leaving a couple of inches loose.

"Get up.", he ordered. She shakingly stood up as he stepped forward with rage in his look. She closed her eyes and bit her lip. He was about to unleash his fury on her small frame when Meredith heard a voice identical to her brother's and the sound of someone being punched with force.

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They arrived at the appartment building a couple of minutes later. Alex, followed by Derek climbed the stairs two by two until they reached the second floor. In front of the door 23, Alex turned the knob who was surprisingly unlocked. They were led by Finn's angry barking to the bedroom.

"You piece of shit, get the hell away from her now!", Alex yelled before landing a powerful fist on the veterinarian's face.

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She opened her eyes to see Finn landing on the ground, holding his nose.

"Damn it", he muttered, while crawling out like a cockroach of the room.

"Can't take someone your size, though guy?!", Alex yelled while following him to the hallway, eyes clouded by anger.

Derek took this moment to run to Meredith and tenderly grab her face in his hands.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?", he asked with concern.

"No, I'm fine, I'm okay.", she replied, looking up to meet his gaze. "Thank you. If you and Alex hadn't come-"

"It's okay, don't think about it. Everything's gonna be okay.", he replied, putting his arms around her and holding her tightly. In truth, he did not want to think about what would've happened, had they come 15 minutes later. He was thankful she was safe and sound.

_Thank God she's alright._

"Do you have a bag? You need to take some stuff with you cause you're not coming back here.", he asked, pulling away so he could look at her still in her scrubs and lab coat.

"Yeah, yeah", she said, sniffling snot, threatening to come down her nose.

She went to her closet and took a big traveling bag. She started opening the drawers to take out clothes and underwear while Derek took care of her shoes. He zipped up the bag and put it on his shoulder.

"We'll take the rest later.", he proposed.

_We?_ , she thought, smiling interiorly at the fact that he planned to be around.

He grabbed her hand and they went out of the room. They passed by Alex still punching a bleeding and almost passed out Finn.

"I think he got the message", Alex observed, getting up. The three of them walked outside the appatment without a look behind. As they went down the stairs, Meredith noticed her brother's fist.

"Alex, your hand is bleeding!", she exclaimed, taking it in her hand to examinate it like he had done earlier today.

"Meredith, stop worrying about me. Are you okay?" he asked as they reached Derek's car.

"I'm fine. Thank you for being here.", she replied, as she took a step to hug her big brother. Derek watched them with a beaming smile. He was glad Meredith had a support system because she was definitaly going to need it. They got inside the car and drove away.

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"I called Izzie and she said she would get your purse and your keys from your locker and bring them here.", Alex said, standing in the front door of his house.

"Thanks", Meredith whispered, from the indoor side of the entrance.

"I'm sorry I have this parent/teacher crap tonight and I can't cancel but I think you're in good hands with Derek here."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of her", replied Derek who was standing next to Meredith. He turned his head towards her eyed her tenderly. It had become a habit of his. He honestly felt like never leaving her out of his sight, even though hhe totally realized it was impossible. Still, he wanted to be there as much as he could to take care of her and maybe love her. Meredith met his gaze and smiled. She was glad she wasn't alone in Alex and Izzie's house. Izzie was still on call as well as Cristina and George. In the car ride, Derek had quickly agreed to stay with her until her brother and his wife got home.

"Thank you.", he said to Derek, holding his hand out. The blue-eyed man gladly grabbed the offered hand and shook it solemnly. After Alex left, they moved into the living room and sat on the couch in an non-awkward silence. They were side by side, their feet free of shoe resting on the coffee table. Meredith wasn't crying anymore. Sadness had long left the building and left place to anger. She was angry at Finn for controling her life and making her feel like she was less than a human being. She was angry at him for making her lie to her family and manipulating her into thinking it was her fault.

"That fucking asshole!", she thought outloud which made Derek raise and eyebrow and look at her with an amused smirk. Realizing what she had done, Meredith giggled.

"Oh sorry. I don't usually swear but Finn just brings it out of me."

"Don't apologize", he chuckled.

"I really want to thank you for what you did today. Thank you for being here.", she softly said. She put her hand on top of his and squeezed it.

"From now on ,you can expect me to always being here. Always.", he answered. "By the way, I really appreciate what you did today."

_What I did? What'd I do?_

"What are you talking about?", she asked with questions marks in her eyes.

"Trying to protect me by threatening to beat up my ex. No one's ever done that for me.", he said, impressed which made her laugh out loud.

"Yeah, I did what I had to do. She deserved it.", she stated with serious expression that Derek found adorable. Suddenly, Meredith put her hand to her stomach as it made a loud roaring noise. She shyly looked at Derek who then looked at her and chuckled.

"I haven't had anything to eat since this morning.", she explained.

"Since this morning?! It's 2 o'clock! You must be starving. You want to go out?"

"We could order something instead.", she suggested. Derek took out his cell phone to order some pizza while Meredith tried to find a good dvd in his brother's collection. They spent the rest of the afternoon, eating and watching a comedy. The movie made them both laugh several times which made them realize they had the same sense of humor. Yes, Meredith was laughing and having a good time in spite of today's disturbing events because that's what being with Derek did it her. When Izzie and Alex arrived home, hours later, they found the pair sleeping on the couch, Derek's arm around her shoulder and Meredith's body tightly snuggled into his chest. Alex bend down next to his sister and tried to get her in his arms to put her somewhere more comfortable than the sofa but was unsuccessful. Meredith was holding on to Derek's shirt as though her life depended on it. She wouldn't let go, no matter how much Alex pulled her. Realizing all his efforts were in vain, he went up the stairs to his bedroom and came back down with a blanket to cover their sleeping forms.

* * *

**Don't think for a second that Derek is done with Finn.....**


	14. Taking back my life

**Disclaimer : I own nothing. Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes.**

**Author's note : Hi all!!! Thanks for taking the time to read and review, it makes me really happy! Forgive any grammatical errors.**

**Chapter title is a song by Joss Stone.**

_

* * *

_

_Where am I? What's going on?_

Derek's eyes flutered open. He blinked a few times, trying to remember yesterday's events.

_Meredith's brother's couch. That's where I am._

He looked down and saw a small frame snuggled to his chest, peacefully sleeping.

_She's so beautiful. How could you possibly want to hurt someone so small and beautiful?_

Derek knew this was his chance. His chance to show her what a real loving relationship felt like. He wanted her to feel liken the most beautiful woman in the world because that's what she was to him. From the first time he had seen her, at the cafeteria, he had known just how much they could be happy together.

He tried to get up without waking her up but failed. She stirred lightly before opening her eyes.

"Hey", she whispered, looking up to him.

"Hey", he responded back.

He took his arm off of her shoulders so she could sit up.

"How are you today?, asked Derek. Yesterday had been very emotionally draining for Meredith and Derek was very impressed by how good she was handling things.

"I'm doing great. Finn is out of my life for good and I can breathe now and you're here.", she replied, diving her eyes into the the blue sea that was his.

Derek smiled at the last bit of her sentence. They got up and made their way to the kitchen where Meredith took a piece of pink paper sitting on the counter, next to a basket of homemade muffins.

_Meredith, _

_I baked some muffins for you and and I moved your things into the guest room. The coffee is ready. _

_I told Dr. Bailey that you were taking the day off so rest and eat something. Cristina is gonna come by today to check up on you._

_Izzie,_

_Ps: Tell Dr. Sheperd that me and Alex are very grateful for what he did for you._

_XXX_

She smiled at the sweetness of her sister-in-law. Meredith knew for a fact that Izzie was the kind of woman would make a great mother someday. She joined Derek at the table with two cups of coffee and two muffins.

"Thank you", gratefully said Derek taking the items in his hand. He took a bite of the muffin and let out a moan of appreciation. Meredith giggled with a knowing smile. Everyone who had ever tasted Izzie's baking had the same reaction.

"Is everything alright?", Derek said, refering to the note.

"Oh yeah, I have the day off and my friend is coming by today. Cristina Yang. She's a resident in oncology and she loves your work."

"That's good.", he answered with a flattered smile. He quickly finished the muffin and took two sips of coffee."I have to go. I have a surgery this morning. But know that I would much rather stay with you."

The last words of his sentence brought fire to her cheeks. She flashed a bright smile, matching his.

"Me too."

"Are you going to be okay?". He got up and eyed her with concern. He wanted to stay, arms wrapped around her body to shield her from pain.

"Go, you have lives to save. I'll be fine.", she assured, looking up to meet his regard. Derek leaned over her and softly put his lips on her pale forehead. She closed her eyes and exhaled. When she opened them, she saw Derek straightening his posture and walking away from the kitchen. A few moments later, she heard the front door close and the sound of a motor engine starting.

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Derek got inside his car and drove away from the house. He had time before he needed to be at the hospital.

_Perfect._

He just had to make a stop before going to work. Something he had wanted to do since yesterday.

He put his hand in his trouser's pocket and took out a small piece of paper.

_Veterinarian Clinic,_

_Dr Finn Dandridge_

_3455 Amery Road_

After a small moment, he parked in front of the veterinarian clinic. He had some things to clear up with Finn. He walked the front door and into the desert waiting area. He spotted the veterinairian looking over a file at the receptionist's office with a black eye and a swollen lip. Derek walked over to him with assurance.

"You should get your face checked out", he commented. " Doesn't look too good."

Finn took his eyes from the file and met Derek's disdained look.

"You're the one who's screwing my girlfriend? Get out."

With quick and sharp movements, Derek took Finn's arm and twisted it behind his back. He pinned him down with force on the desk, his face smashed on the hardwood. Finn let out a small cry and tried to wiggled out of this position but Derek's strength was too great thanks to hours of weight-lifting and biking. Add to that yesterday's beating who had probably taken its toll on the veterinarian's body.

"Ex-girlfriend. You lost the right to call her your girlfriend the day you put your filthy hands on her, you piece of shit. I came here to give you a little piece of advice. Do not ever try to contact Meredith Grey. You are dead to her. You're in the past. If you don't follow this advice, I will make sure that you never walk again. I am a neuro surgeon and believe me, I know how to do it. Are we clear?", Derek declaimed in a rather menacing tone. It seemd to have his effect on Finn because he franctically nodded yes with his head.

"Glad we had this talk." Derek sarcastically replied, letting go of Finn's arm. With a hand through his black curls, he walked out of the clinic, ready to go cut a brain open.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meredith had moved from the kitchen to the couch. She had just finished her second muffin when the doorbell was heard though the house. She walked up to the entrance and opened the door to see Cristina behind it.

"Hey", Cristina greeted before side stepping Meredith and throwing her thin body on the couch because she was Cristina and that's what she always did. Meredith chuckled, being accustomed to her person's behavior, closed the door and settled next to her.

"So, how are you?", she asked with a hand playing in her long dark locks.

"I'm good, great even."

"Are you sure? Isn't it a bit soon to be great Don't you wanna cry all day and with a pint of mint chocolate ice cream and Celine Dion's music?", she asked with a disbelieving tone and raised eyebows.

Though it was soon, Meredith felt like Finn was in the past. She felt ready to move on. It's at that moment that she realized she had fallen out of love with Finn a long time ago. Even before he had started hitting her, things were not as passionate and exciting as the first couple of months they had been together. During those weeks he had broken her down and and stripped of her self-esteem and dignity. She slowly but surely gaining it all back and that was partly thanks to Derek. He had listened to her and gave a little peak of what being in a true and loving relationship could feel like. She was ready to move on and she definitaly wanted Derek in the picture.

"Yes, I'm sure!", she said with am amused tone. "I'm happy this bastard is out of my life and I'm ready to move on."

"I will kick his ass if he ever comes back around here.", Cristina threatened. Meredith smiled, realizing how much everyone around her was protecting her.

"Alex already took care of that and I'm fine."

"Okay good because I'm getting married in a week and I'm happy. I want you to be happy too."

"Don't worry, I am."

"By the way, who's gonna be your date? We can all agree that Finn is out of the equation."

"For sure. I was thinking about inviting Derek."

"Derek? Dr. Sheperd? Isn't he engaged?", Cristina asked.

"Nope, not anymore. She was cheating on him and she only wanted him for his money."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously.", Meredtih stated with a smile.

"And since when are you two.....", she asked leaving thre rest of the question in the air.

"It's recent. He's nice and funny and charming-"

"Yeah, okay I got it. He's everything", Cristina said, putting her halt to Meredith's tirade.

_I should totally invite him. I'll give him call later and see if we can go out tonight. It'll be the perfect opportunity._

The two women continued to chat about last minute details of the wedding and hospital stuff.


	15. It' a date

**Disclaimer : I own nothing. Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes.**

**Author's note : Hey everyone! Thanks for taking the time to read/review. This chapter is happening the same day as last chapter. Don't forget to review! (Don't be shy) :-).**

* * *

The only sound in the scrub room was the running water and the friction of Derek's hands as he sterilized them. He was halfway done when the door swung open and a curvy blond stepped inside. He looked up and instantly recognized her face from family pictures at Alex's house.

_That's the woman from the photos. She must be Izzie, the wife of Meredith's brother. Why is she scrubbing in?_

She walked up to the sink, next to him and gave him an ear-to-ear smile.

"Hi, Dr. Sheperd", she greeted while applying the soap to her hands.

"Hello, ?", he said in an unsure tone thinking she had the same last name as Meredith and Alex.

"Dr. Stevens-Grey", she corrected. "I'm scrubbing in instead of Dr. Thomas , he had an emergency. I studied the case but I'll just be observing in the OR."

"Okay, welcome on board.", he replied with a smile.

"Listen", she started. "I want to thank you for everything you did for Meredith. If it hadn't been for you, she would probably still be with that bastard. Thank you"

Derek smiled as he turned the water off.

"I did what anybody would've done and I'm glad she's okay too."

"You know, I saw you too sleeping on the couch last night. I think she really likes you and I can tell you like her too. She feels safe with you."

With that, she walked into the operating room. leaving a very happy Derek.

_She likes me. We can do this. We can start something new. I just don't want her to feel like things are going too fast._

After the sugery, Derek decided to pay a late afternoon visit to a redhead neonatal surgeon. He found her sitting at her office with the company of an enormous pile of paperwork to read. He knocked on the door and waited before hearing her "Yes, come in" to enter. He sat down in front of her and sighed.

Addisod up, eyebrows raised.

"Okay, tell me what's wrong."

He told her the whole story, from the moment he first saw her to what had happened just a couple hours earlier in the scrub room.

"So you see my problem? I really like Meredith and I want to be with her but I don't want to rush anything. I want her to feel like things can go at her rhythm. I can wait. I'll wait ten years if I have to.", Derek said as he passed his hand through his dark curls. Addison smiled tenderly at her friend, almost brother.

"Why don't tell her what you just told me? It's that simple."

"You really think so?"

"Yes! I've never seen you like this! I'm happy for you Der. When am I going to meet her?"

"I don't know", he chuckled.

"Oh, by the way, did you get an invitation too from Owen Hunt? He's getting married next week.", Addison explained.

"Oh, yeah, I did. The bride is Meredith's friend actually, Cristina Yang."

"Oh really?", she replied with a surprised tone.

"Yep, she told me she was the maid of honor."

"That's great! Maybe you can dance with her at the wedding and see where things take you,", she said with not so innocent wink. Derek laughed at his friend's suggestion.

"I'd love too but she didn't invite me. I would feel awkward going to the wedding. Maybe she doesn't want to go with me! What if she already has a date?!", Derek suddenly panicked.

"You need to stop, okay. Call her and talk. I'm sure she w-"

Her sentence was interrupted by the sound of Derek's cellphone. He took it out of his pocket and read the caller I.D. He quickly got up with a bright, very bright smile on his face. He pressed a button and put the phone to his ear while mouthing "It's her" to Addison.

"Hello", he said as he left the office.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meredith was sitting on the front door steps outside, waiting for her brother. Two jumbo sized empty traveling bags were at her feet and a can of Coca-Cola with a straw in hand. She had ditched her pyjama for a light green long-sleeved sweater and skinny jeans.

_What's taking him so long? I really want to get this over with._

Ever since Cristina had left, Meredith had been thinking about the wedding and Derek. She had butteflies in her stomach and was slightly nervous about inviting him. Sure, he was friends with so he was probably already invited but she wanted to go with him.

_I'm reasy for that next step. I want to be with him._

By now, everyone at the hospital probably knew what had happened to her because news had a way of traveling fast at Seattle Grace. People would probably be surprised to see her with someone else so fast but she didn't care. Meredfith Grey was set on following her heart, no matter what. She got up, seeing her Alex's car in front of the house. She took the two bags and her drink and got inside the car. Before she could say anything else, Alex spoke.

"I'm sorry. I got held up at school by a kid. He needed advice. Girl adivce."

Meredith giggled, reminded by what it was like to be a teenager in love.

"Awww, that's adorable." she gushed. Alex chuckled and put his foot on the accelerator. "What was his problem?"

"He has a crush on this girl in his class but she's in the popular crowd and he's a nerd. He didn't know how to approach her."

"What'd you tell him?"

"I told him : 'Stop being such a wuss, be yourself and go talk to her.'"

She laughed at how direct her brother could be sometimes.

"I'm sure you helped him. You're really great with those kids.", she said, eyeing his profile.

Alex's expression darkened and he cleared his throat. She looked at him quizzically, wondering what was on his mind.

"I might be good with the kids but I'm not such a good big brother. I'm sorry Mer. I practically pushed you in his arms. I'm the one who introduced you two. If it wasn't for me you would never have met him and none of this would've happened. I let you down."

Meredith looked at her Alex, completely dumbfounded. She was not expecting this to come out of his mouth. He had already apologized and she had already told him it wasn't his fault.

_How long has he been holding this in?_

"Alex, listen. You did not let me down, Finn did. You do not owe me any apology, Finn does. There is no way you could've known what would happen. I love you and you're the best big brother in the world.", she said, her hand firmly holding his forearm. "Now, I don't ever want to hear you say something like this again, okay?"

"Okay.", he sighed. "Are you sure all your things will get in the bags?".

"Yes, I'm sure. We're just going there to take the rest of my clothes and my personal things. I don't want the bed. I don't want the couch. I don't want anything Finn and I ever shared.", Meredith let out. "Well maybe except for that new toaster oven we got. It cooks everything just right! I'm so not leaving it there."

Alex glanced at his sister and smiled.

They pulled up in front of the appartment building. Alex took the empty bags and together, they walked up the stairs and entered Meredith's former flat.

"Go get the toaster oven before we forget!", she ordered from the bedroom. She took a bag and proceeded to collect the rest of her clothes. When she was done, she went over all the drawers and the night stands and got all the paperwork and personal stuff that belonged to her. While Alex was in the living room, she went in the bathroom and collected her things. Ten minutes and bag full of stuff later, she was finished. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and did a double-take.

_The necklace! I'm still wearing the necklace Finn got me._

She took off the gold jewel and held it to the daylight coming from the window.

_Hmm. Must be worth a couple of hundred dollars._

That's how Alex found her.

"What's that?", he asked pointing to the necklace.

"That's how he would usually apologize for hitting me. With gifts. I think I'm gonna sell it.", she responded.

"That's my girl! What are you gonna do with the money?", Alex replied.

"I have no idea."

Meredith giggled and put the necklace in her pocket.

Alex took the bags and they headed to the car. When they got home, Alex went to the living room to watch a football game while Meredith went up to her room.

_Oh! I have to call Derek._

She jumped on her bed, took the phone and dialed Derek's cell number without looking at the buisness card he gave her because she knew the digits by heart.

"Hello", Derek said, trying to sound casual.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meredith did not seem to notice.

"Hey.", she replied, also trying to hide how nervous she felt. It also went totally unnoticed by Derek. "How are you?"

"I'm great. You?", he said, finding a chair to sit on in an empty on-call room.

"I'm good, thank you. You must be wondering why I'm calling!", she laughed nervously.

"You can call my anytime you need. I like hearing your voice", he admitted. Meredith's heart made a small jump and a wide grin appeared on her face.

"Um...you know there's a wedding coming up. My friend Cristina's wedding. She's a resident here and she's getting married to Dr. Owen Hunt. It's next week. Like I told you, I'm the maid of honor and I was wondering if-You don't have too if you don't want b-"

"You want me to go with you?", he asked. He sounded confident but inside, he was hoping, almost praying she would say yes.

"Umm...yeah! Yeah. Do you want to?", she asked.

"I would be honored."

Meredith giggled and mouthed a "Yes!" to herself.

"Then it's a date. We could see each other tommorow at noon on the bench and I'll give you all the details."

"Okay, great. I'll see you tommorow.", he said with a huge smile on his face.

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

Derek hung up the phone, still smiling.

_It's a date._


	16. Moving on

**Disclaimer : I own nothing. Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes.**

**Author's note : Hi everyone!!! Thank you very much for reading/reviewing last chapter. Enjoy and review!**

* * *

Merdith yawned as she stepped inside the residents' lounge with Izzie. It felt good to be back at work. Even though she had only be gone two days, it felt like two weeks. Sh had missed the daily check ups on her patients and eating in the cafeteria with her friends. She was back to work and moving on. There was no point in staying home listening to depressing music and crying because frankly, there was nothing to cry about. Nothing was linking her to that scumbag anymore and she could focus on the relationship that was forming with the dark-haired neurosurgeon. While she made her way to her locker, she spotted George not too far from them, tying his shoelaces. A couple of other residents were in the room as well, preparing for the day. George looked up and noticed his friends coming in.

"Meredith! Good morning! How are you? How'd you sleep?", he exclaimed with concern.

_Is it gonna be like this everyday?_

"I'm fine too, thanks for asking George!", sarcastically replied Izzie. Meredith giggled and began changing into her scrubs.

"George I'm fine, really. Don't worry about me. Finn is out of my life and for good.", she reassured, hoping he would stop looking at her like she was going to break within the next thirty seconds. George smiled, seemingly believing her.

Izzie smiled knowingly.

"Meredith is fine because she has someone new in her life!", she said in a sing-song manner.

Both turned their attention to their green-eyed friend, hungry for details.

"Did you ask him for the wedding? You can't be a dateless maid of honor at Cristina's wedding.", Izzie replied matter-of-factly.

"Dr. Sheperd? The rock star neurosurgeon?! When did this happen?", George inquired with confusion.

"He rescued her from Finn! Isn't that romantic?", Izzie gushed with an ear to ear smile.

Meredith chuckled and closed her locker.

Cristina rushed inside the lounge towards her friends.

"Meredith?! Is it true?", she exclaimed. The three resident looked at Cristina, confused.

"Is what true?!", Meredith asked.

"I heard that you beat up Horseface, the bitchy nurse"

"What? You beat up Horseface?!", George said a little too loud because everyone's attention in the room was now focused on Meredith.

_Those damn nurses spreading rumours left and right!_

"George!", Meredith hissed, uncomfortable with everybody staring at her.

"Well?", Izzie said.

"No, I didn't beat her up. I merely threatened her.", she replied with a shrug of the shoulder.

"But why?", Cristina asked.

"Because she was annoying and blamed me for her cheating on Derek. it doesn't even make sense. I simply adivsed her not too talk to him or she would suffer the consequences. That's all.", she casually said.

"You make me proud", Crisitina joked, swiping an imaginary tear form her face.

The four of them laughed and walked out of the room in search for their resident.

The hours passed by quickly. Meredith spent the morning taking to patients and researching different treatment plans. She was getting out of a patient's room when she took a look at her watch

_11h46. It's time to go meet Derek!_

She put the chart on the nurse's station and took the stairs to the cafeteria. There, she bought two big chicken sandwiches and two bottles of orange juice because she was starving and she knew he would be too. She made her way to their bench and sat down to wait for him.

_He's not here yet. I hope he doesn't have an emergency_, she nervously thought.

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Derek Sheperd's morning had been good. Great, even. He had woken up, feeling ready to start the day and excited to eat with Meredith. When he got to the hospital, he was hoping he could catch glimpse of her smile or a whiff of her lavender shampoo but, unfortunately he hadn't seen her all morning. He had even considered on his way to his office dropping by the oncology floor to 'drop some paperwork' or 'check on a patient'. This idea quickly evaporated because he didn't want her to think he was stalking her.

_I'll see her at noon. It's not that long. I can , I can totally wait_, he had thought, not really believing it. Getting off the lift, he changed into his navy scrubs in his office and then concentrated his thoughts in a five hour long craniotomy. When the sugery was done, it was almost noon. He quickly scrubbed out and eager to meet Meredith, ditched the elevator for the stairs. Passing by the cafeteria, he bought two salads and two bottles of water to share. On his way to the bench, he bought chocolate covered almonds from a vending machine. When he reached finally reached his destination, he saw a head of dirty blond hair flowing in the wind.

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Derek stepped forward and sat down next to her. She turned her head and a bright smile appeared on her face. She sighed in relief at the sight of him.

_He's here!!!_

"Hey", he said. He was captivated by the glow radiating from her face. He noticed she wasn't wearing any makeup, which he found unbelievably sexy.

"Hey", she replied. The dark stumble on his face and the intense way his eyes were looking right through hers sent shivers throughout her whole body. They were both so mesmerized with each other that it took a minute or two for them to notice it.

"You brought food and drinks too?", she laughed, looking down at his hands. He chuckled as he saw she was also holding food in her hands.

"Yeah, I did. I figured you'd be starving", he said.

"Me too."

He gave her a sandwich and a bottle of water while she gave him a salad, a fork and orange juice. He also took out the chocolate covered almonds and placed in the tiny space left between them.

"You remebered!" she stated.

_I can't believe he remembered they're my favorites._

"If I remember? It's the first thing we shared together. Of course I remember.", he said softly.

She looked up to him and smiled thinking that he amazed her more everyday. Finn never remembered small details such as her favorite candies because he never listened to her. He had this innerving way of always making the conversations about him or about her flaws.

They both unwrapped their sandwiches and began eating.

"For the wedding, I have to prepare at Cristina's house so we could meet at the church. The time and place are on the invitation card. Then, we could go to the reception together."

"Sure, sounds great.", he replied between two bites.

"Good."

"Meredith?", Derek said, putting down his food. She stopped eating and looked at him quizzically, noticing the seriousness in his tone.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to say...ummm....", he paused for a second, trying to gather his thoughts.

_What am I so nervous? She's just __a girl. Okay it's not just a girl, it's THE girl. Be cool Derek, be cool._

"I don't want you to feel like I'm rushing you into anything. I like you, I really really do. I want to be with you but if you feel like you need more time, I can wait. A long time."

She stared at him, pleasantly surprised at what he had just said. She was in total awe with everything he was doing for her like rescuing her from Finn or bringing her candy or being willing to wait until she was ready. Meredith Grey was used to dating jerks so to finally find someone sweet and caring like Derek was felt surreal.

"Derek, I don't need time or to wait because I really like you too. What happened was in the past and I'm ready to move on. I've been ready ever since I met you."

She looked deeply into his eyes, trying to convey everything she was feeling into her eyes. His response was an equally deep stare. All of the sudden, their faces were only millimiters appart.

Their lips collided into each other with passion. He cupped her face with his hands and she grabbed onto the back of his neck. She moaned in pleasure as she parted her lips to make way for his tongue to enter her mouth. Derek's pager broke the magic of the moment. He relunctantly moved his head back to look at the message. Meredith sighed in frustration.

"It's a 911, I have to go.", he said, flashing an apologetic smile.

"Go, it's okay.", she said, trying not to let the disappointment show on her face.

He got up and threw the remains of his lunch in the garbage. Before walking away, he bent down and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"I'll see you very soon."

Fire made its way to her cheeks as she smiled. He ran away to the hospital, not without a last glance towards Meredith.

She sat there, mesmerized by their embrace. She didn't know how it was possible but this kiss was better than the first one. Just like anything with Derek, it kept getting better. This thought left her completely hopeful for the future of their relationship.

* * *

**Next chapter is the wedding!**


	17. I can't imagine my life without you

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes.**

**Author's note: Hi everyone! I'm sorry for the small delay; I've been working like a maniac! Thanks a bunch to everyone who read/reviewed! It's always a pleasure to know what you think. Sorry for the typos if there are any. Enjoy and don't forget to review.**

It had been five days since Derek and Meredith had shared their lunch (and the incredible kiss) at the bench. It had also been five days since they had talked for more than thirty seconds. It was an unsually busy week for Seattle Grace. Between work and the last minute details of the wedding, Meredith hadn't had a second to herself. Dress fittings, patients, seating arrangements and bachelorette party had kept her very occupied. Derek had also been very busy. With his duties at the hospital and shopping for a (perfect) suit for the wedding, he hadn't had the time to slow down.

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Derek took off his seatbelt and got out of his car. Before crossing the street to get inside the church, he carefully looked at both sides. Meredith's habit had indeed rubbed off on him. He walked inside and spotted Addison and Mark. He walked up to the third row, where his friends were steated. The church full as the wedding was about to start.

"Derek! Where were you?", Mark asked.

"I thought you weren't coming for a second.", added Addison.

"I had an emergency at the hospital.", he replied as he sat down between Mark and the aisle. His friends continued to chat but Derek was no longer listening. He was looking around, trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of Meredith. He had barely seen her all week and was very anxious to lay his eyes on her. Suddenly, the music started playing and the doors opened. The bridesmaids began walking down the ailse. Derek recognized Izzie, Callie and Arizona, reaching the front one by one. Last but not least was Meredith.

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"Hey guys! I need some help here.", yelled Cristina, struggling with the back of her strapless curve hugging white wedding dress. Meredith, Izzie, Callie and Arizona came back inside the room to help the bride. All four women were wearing the same sapphire strapless dress with an empire waist that hit just above the knee. While Callie fixed the zipper, Izzie was retouching Cristina's makeup and Arizona was adjusting her black curls. Meredith was sitting on a chair in the corner, watching the scene.

"You're getting married, Cristina. You're getting married today.", she emphasized with a beaming smile, almost not believing it.

"Yeah, I'm getting married today.", Cristina stated. They both shared a look that had a meaning that no one but them knew.

"Have you seen Derek?", Izzie asked Meredith while sweeping a brush along the bride's cheekbone.

Meredith appeared calm on the outside but was impatient on the inside. She needed to get lost in his blue eyes and the sooner the better.

"Not yet.", she replied with a small smile. "He's probably already seated right now."

"Oh right!", asked Callie. "The hot neurosurgeon. Is he your date?"

"Yes, he is. We're going to the reception together."

"You're dating the hot neurosurgeon? All the scub nurses must hate you, Grey!", added Arizona.

"I'm sure they do. He's a wonderful man.", Mereidith chuckled.

Callie looked up to Cristina and shared a look. The same thing happened between Izzie and Arizona. Soon enough, all four of them were eyeing each other and Meredith with an amused expression.

_What the hell?_

"What?", she asked quizically.

"Mer, it's so obvious. You're falling for this guy!", Izzie gushed.

"Yup, your eyes lit up when we mentionned him.", Arizona stated.

"Am I?"

"Yes!", the women collectively answered.

Meredith blushed and looked down. There was no point in denying it. She was falling for Derek Sheperd and fast at that.

Izzie, Arizona and Callie stepped back to contemplate the final result.

"You look.....amazing", Izzie breathed out with watery eyes.

"Beautiful! We'll have to pick up Owen's jaw off of the floor when he sees you.", Arizona said.

"Yeah, Yang, you look great. Way better than the first wedding you had.", Callie added.

"Callie Torres!", scolded Izzie. "No Burke talk today!"

"It's fine, I don't even care anymore and I do look way hotter than last time."

Hearing this made Meredith' smile widen.

_My person's all grown up. She's getting married to a wonderful man and she's not so dark and twisty anymore._

"Are you ready?", Meredith asked.

"Yeah, let's get this party started.", Cristina replied, straightening her posture. They all walked out of the changing room and into the hall. Callie knocked on the door, signaling that they were ready to go. Seconds later, music was heard throughout the whole church and the doors opened. Izzie stepped forward and walked down the aisle first, followed by Callie and Arizona. It was now Meredith's turn. She gave a reassuring look and a wink to her best friend who looked extremely nervous.

"Rock it out.", Meredith said. She walked up to the doors and took a deep breath.

_God, don't let me trip!_

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Of course, they were all wearing the same dress but something about her was unique.

_God, she's so beautiful._

He wasn't sure if it was the was her skin was glowing under the sunlight beaming through the windows or the fact that he had never seen her in a dress. She was just amazing.

Meredith was putting on foot in front of the other, trying not to fall and trying to ignore the fact that everyone was looking at her.

She passed by Dr. Webber and his wife, and her family and-

_Oh, that's Derek! _

He was dressed in a black suit with a sky blue tie which his eyes pop.

The way he was staring at her with hunger and passion in his look made her blush and attempt to look away but she couldn't. At that exact moment, she felt lik they were the only people in the room, even though there were almost a hundred people in the church. She wanted to run to him and kiss him until they were out of breath but, of course, she was not going to do that.

_Meredith, focus! Ignore the dreamy eyes and get to the alter._

She turned her head towards the alter where Owen, the priest and the bridsmaid were waiting.

Finally, the bride's turn came. The music changed to the traditonnal «Here comes the bride».

The guests rose from their seats and watched as Cristina joined her soon-to-be husband. After the ceremony, the married couple and all the guests got to their car to go to the reception. Meredtih walked outside and found Derek waiting for her in front of the church. He looked up when he saw her approach.

"Hey", she said as she stood in front of him.

"Hey. You look beautiful.", he said in a low tone that sent shivers through her spine.

"Thank you. You're pretty handsome too."

"Thanks", he smiled. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, you have the address?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go."

He put his hand to the small of her back and and lead her to the street. There, he abruptly stopped and put a protective hand over her forearm. To her disbelieving stare, he looked at both sides of the street before taking her hand and crossing it.

_Did he really just do that? He remembered!_

"I can't believe you remember that, Derek!", she said with a bright smile. He opened the door to the passenger side and she got in the car. He ran over to the driver's side and installed himself on the seat.

"I do it all the time now.", he replied. "Besides, I remember everything about you. I mean, how could I not? You're amazing."

Meredith, without thinking about it for a second, grabbed his face between her hands and crashed his lips onto hers. Derek did not seem to mind her moment of spontaneity because he moved his lips from her mouth to the base of her neck while she was giggling uncontrollably.

"Derek, we have to get to the reception!", she exclaimed, trying to keep her tone serious.

"Really?"

"Yes, really.", she laughed. He relunctantly pulled away and put the key in the ignition.

"Fine but you owe me a kiss.", he said, pouting in a way that Meredith found absolutely adorable. He turned the steering wheel and got out of the parking spot.

"Alright, you'll be getting a kiss by the end of the night."

"Only one?"

She giggled and gave him a light tap on the arm.

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Dere and Meredith arrived at the reception a few moments later. They spent a couple of minutes talking at their table to friends and collegues from Seattle Grace. Aftr a while, couples moved from the tables to the dancefloor.

"Do you want to dance or take a walk outside?", Derek asked.

"I choose the walk.", she replied.

They both got up and made their way outside.

Derek noticed the goosebumps on her skin so he took of his suit jacket and gently placed it around her shoulders. She looked up to him and smiled.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

They were walking along a little path that lead to a small bench illuminated by a streetlight.

_Should I ask him? Maybe it's too personal. Oh, screw it!_

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, ask away."

"How did end up with someone like Rose?"

She couldn't help the slight disgust in her tone while saying her name.

Derel chuckled and scratched the back of his neck.

"I wonder the same thing myself. Before Rose, I was with another woman, Katie."

Meredith felt a little pang to her heart hearing about someone he had been with. She tried not to let it show.

"Katie was independent, very independent. It's not that I don't like indepedent women, far from it. It's just that I felt like she didn't need me the way I needed her. We were together but it's as though we were leading separate lives. There's also the fact that she cheated on me with her assistant. "

Meredith put her hand in his and squeezed it.

"That must've been hard."

He looked at her and smiled.

"Yeah, it was for awhile and then I met Rose at th hospital. I wanted someone who was the complete opposite of Katie. I never even loved her. Rose was very needy and she wanted someone to take care of her. That's what I did. . Then I met you."

"Then you met me.", she smiled.

They both stopped walking and faced each other.

"You saved from making the biggest mistake of my life.", he said, passing a hand through her hair."Now, I'm having a hard time imagining my life without you, Meredith Grey."

"Well, you saved me from pretty much getting killed because that's probably what would've ended up happening. So life without you is not really an option at this point, Derek Sheperd."

He opened his arms and pulled her into a tight hug. She held on tighly to his body and breathed in his cologne.

"Maybe we should get back. Cristina and Owen are leaving for their honeymoon and I want to have time to say goodbye."

"Okay."

They walked back in direction of the building hand in hand. When they arrived, the married couple was saying their goodbyes and people were starting to leave.

"Mer! There you are.", Alex exclaimed. "Yang's about to leave."

"I'll be right back.", she said to Derek. She left him with her brother while she went up to her best friend who was standing near the entrance, already in her street clothes while Owen was loading the gifts in the car.

"So, how are things with my sister."

"They're good, very good. ". Derek replied as his eyes were fixated on Meredith and Cristina talking in an animated manner. This didn't go unnoticed by Alex.

"That's great. She's been very in a very good mood lately. You're good for her, man."

"Thanks, I really appreciate that."

Soon, Meredith came back to Derek's side.

"We're leaving now. Good night.", Alex said.

"Good night", Meredith replied.

Alex took Izzie's hand who was sitting on a chair half asleep and they left the room.

"You ready to go?", Derek asked.

"Yep, let's go because my feet are killing me.", she said. She sat on a nearby chair and took off her shoes.

"You can't walk barefoot outside. You're gonna get hurt.", Derek crouching down in front of her. "Come on, I'll carry you on my back."

"Seriously?", she giggled

"Yeah, seriously. Go ahead."

Meredith shook her head and laughed.

"Alright."

She hopped on his back, one hand holding her shoes and an arm secured across his chest.

Derek stood up and was surprised by how light she was.

They made their way to the car, laughing the whole way.


	18. New and different

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes.**

**Author's note: Hey everyone! I hope you all are having a great summer! Thank you for taking the time to read/review. This chapter is rated M for some sexually explicit content. I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to review!!!**

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When they arrived in front of the car, Derek lowered himself so Meredith could get off of his back.

"Thank you for the ride.", she said jokingly.

"It was my pleasure.", he replied in the same tone.

Once again, he went around the car and opened the door for Meredith. Right before getting in, she had a weird sensation, like someone was watching them from afar. She franctically looked around, trying to see if someone was there in the shadows. Derek looked at her quizically.

"Mer, what is it?", he said, putting a warm hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and sighed.

"It's nothing. I just thought someone was watching us. I must be tired, that's all."

_What's wrong with me? It must be the wine. Yep, that's probably it._

Derek looked around as well but did not see anything suspicious.

"There's no one here. Are you sure you're okay?", he softly asked.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." she said with a reassuring smile. She finally got in the car and Derek shut the door. He came back to his side and hopped in.

He took the keys out of his pocket while Meredith was putting her shoes back on. He was about to start the car when something stopped him.

"Can I ask you something too?", Derek asked.

"Sure", she replied, sitting up on her seat.

"How'd you end up with Finn?"

Meredith chuckled at Derek's question. She had expected him to ask this.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to.", he said, glancing at her. He saw what looked like a flash of sadness in her eyes.

"It's fine. You answered my question so it's only fair that I answer yours."

She took a deep breath and passed a hand through her dirty blond locks.

"I met Finn two years ago. He was Alex's friend. They went to college together. At first, it was great. He was caring, kind. All my friends kept saying I was lucky to have met such a wonderful man.", she said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Everything was fine until we moved in together a little over a month ago. It's like he was became different person. A monster. It was horrible."

Derek took her small hand in his. She tightly squeezed it.

"He would snap at the smallest things and break me down day after day, physically and emotionally. I never felt good enough for him."

_Thank God she's not with that asshole anymore._

He took her face between his hands.

"I want you to know that I would never hurt you. Ever.", he sad, putting the emphasis on «ever».

"I know."

"I hope you know that you're the most beautiful woman I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, inside and out."

She felt the fire make its way to her cheeks. No one had ever complimented her this way.

They leaned over so their forehead could touch. To know that someone care that much about her made her feel beautiful and strong.

"Let's get you home, okay?"

"Okay."

He put the key in the ignition and and drove away. When they arrived in front of Alex's house, Derek took the key out of the contact. Meredith felt a bit disappointed that the evening was already over. He was feeling the same. They both sat in silence.

_Should I ask him? I don't now._

_I really want to go inside with her but maybe she's tired._

"Umm...d-do you want to come inside?", she said, trying to hide her nervousness.

"Yes!", he replied with a tad too much enthousiasm. "I mean, ummm.. yeah, sure."

"Okay", she giggled. She hadn't plan on inviting him; it was a spur of the moment decision.

They got out of the car and walked to the entrance. While Meredith was unlocking the door, Derek couldn't help but stare at her perfect face. He loved the way the green in her eyes glittered.

She finally opened the door and they walked inside the dark hall.

"Let's go upstairs.", she said.

They tiptoed their way to the stairs and went up to her room. She opened the door and walked inside followed by Derek. He closed the door and when he turned around to face Meredith, he was greeted by her lips on his mouth. He parted his lips so her tongue could make its way inside his mouth. She put her arms around his neck while his hands traveled from the small of her back to her ass. They unlocked their lips to breathe. He cupped her face in his hands and eyed her, looking for some sort of approval.

"Are you sure you want to?"

She wanted to. She definitely wanted to. She wanted him inside of her very badly and Derek's excitation was getting very obvious and very painful.

"Yes.", she whispered.

Derek took his shoes off while Meredith rid herself of her heels.

He took off his jacket and unbuckled his belt. She took the innitiative to quickly unbutton his shirt. Meredith hadn't realized how much she desired Derek. She was surprised by how impatient she was to have him in her bed. Once Derek was completely undressed, he unzipped her dress and it fell at her ankles. Same with her panties.

"You're beautiful.", he said, admiring her naked body. She smiled and licked her lips.

She hopped on the bed and laid on her back, her arms resting above her head on the pillow. He crawled on the bed and laid on top of her, his body between her legs. He gently dropped kisses on her lips and slowly descended. While he was working on her neck, she caressed his hair with her right hand and his back with her left. He then moved on to her breast. He sucked and nibbled her nipple while massaging and pinching the other one with his hand.

"That feels so good."

"Good, because I'm here to please you in every possible way.", he replied.

Meredith closed her eyes and let out a sigh of pleasure. After a few minutes, he went from her breast to her firm stomach to finally reach between her legs. She sighed in anticipation and spread her legs wider so he could have better access. Derek slowly entered a finger in her already wet cavity.

"Do you like that?", he asked while moving his finger in and out.

"Yes, Derek. Yes.", she whispered, in extacy.

"How about when I do this?"

He added two fingers and started licking her clit.

She moaned and pinched one of her nipples.

"I want you inside me, Derek.", she demanded in a shaky voice. She took a look at his throbbing shaft and knew he wanted it as much as she did. He continued tounging and fingering until she climaxed. Her heart was racing and she was trying to breathe normally. Never had she felt this great with a man. It's as though Derek knew exactly how she liked to be touched. She opened her night stand drawer and a minute later, took out a condom. She gave it to him and he installed it on his shaft.

He crawled back to her so their faces were at the same level. While kissing her, he slid himself inside her. He groaned as her walls were closing around his member. He started slowly but soon, Meredith was feeling his long and deep thrusts. She grabbed the sheets and held on tightly.

"Oh Derek, yes. Fuck me!"

They continued in different rhythms and positions until both were completely satisfied and exhausted. Derek rolled over next to her. She put her head on his shoulder and he slid his arm under her neck. She closed her eyes and smiled at how perfect this day had been. Her best friend had gotten married and she was in Derek's arms. This night had definitely exceeded all of their expectations.

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"Derek? Where are you going?", she sleepily said. She blinked a couple of times and saw him buttoning his shirt.

"Hey, sleeping beauty. I have to go to the hospital. I have a surgery.", he said, approaching the bed.

"Oh, okay."

He bent down and left a soft kiss on her lips.

"You could meet me in my office for lunch.", he suggested with one of his dreamy smiles. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and yawned.

"Alright. See you later."

"Bye."

He gave her one last kiss before grabbing his jacket and quietly leaving the room. Meredith sighed in disappointment. She was hoping they'd have a chance to cuddle before going to work.

_Patients go first.._

She tried to cheer herself up, knowing that she'd get to see him very soon.

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Derek tiptoed his way out of the house. He walked to his car and unlocked the door. He was about to put his seat belt on when suddenly, a hand with a piece of cloth in it popped out from behind his seat and made its way over his mouth. Derek tried to wiggle his way out but in vain. He was getting weaker by the second.

_Damn it, there's probably chloroform on the cloth!_

Before passing out he glanced at the rearview mirror and saw Finn with an unreadable expression on his face. Then, it got very dark.


	19. Change of plans

**Disclaimer : I own nothing. Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes.**

**Author's note : Hi people!! I'm so sorry for the wait! Work has been crazy lately! Thanks to everyone who reviewed/read! A special thanks to all the regulars who read and review chapter after chapter. It means soooo much to me. **

**Enjoy and don't forget to review.**

* * *

"Meredith!", Izzie exclaimed as she busted into the room and let her tall body fall on the bed. "Mer, wake up!"

She repetitively nudged Meredith's shoulder until she awoke from her peaceful sleep.

"Izzie, what is it?", she sleepily said. She rubbed her eyes.

"It's time to go to work!", Izzie replied in a chipper tone.

Meredith yawned and straightened up on while Izzie sat across from her, Indian style . She was normally grumpy in the morning, but not today. Today she was in a great mood and excited to go to work. She was looking forward to seeing Derek, even though she had been with him all night.

"So?", Izzie inquired with a knowing smile. " How was the sex?"

_What? How does sh-What?_

"W-what do you mean? Sex? There wa-There was no sex. No sexing at all.", she lied, eyeing the floor.

"Mer, you can stop lying. I saw him last night. In your bed. Naked.", Izzie replied.

"You saw us!?"

_Oh my god! She saw us having sex!_

"Yeah, I wanted to know if you were home so I peeked inside your room last night. You were both sleeping."

_Oh thank God!_

"Does Alex know?", she asked with a bit of worry in her tone. Meredith didn't really want him to know. It's not the kind of information she'd usually share with her brother.

"No, I didn't tell him. He doesn't need to know the details of your night with Derek, right?"

"Right."

"But I do!", Izzie exclaimed with an ear-to-ear smile which made Meredith giggle. "Spill it. How was it?"

Meredith brought her knees up to her chest and couldn't hep but smile at the memory of last night. The way he thrust inside of her and the smell of his skin.

"Izzie, that was by far the best sex I've ever had.", she gushed. "It was amazing!"

"That good?" Izzie widened her eyes, stunned.

"Yes, that good. ", Meredith confirmed with a nod.

"Handsome, sexy, polite, educated and good in bed? Honey, you just hit the jackpot! When is the next rendez-vous?.",

"Actually, we're supposed to meet for lunch today."

"Aww Mer, I'm so glad things are good between you and Derek. After everything that's happened, you really deserve to be happy."

Izzie opened her arms to hug her. Meredith didn't hug people usually but she figured she'd make an exception. What Izzie had said truly touched her. She was grateful to have such good friends and an awesome brother. The thing she was the most grateful for though, was the day Derek Sheperd entered her life. It had not been the same since. After they embraced, the two sisters-in-law got up from the bed to get ready for work.

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"Derek, come with me.", Meredith demanded.

Everything around him was white. Except for her. She was wearing a floor-length black nightgown and her hair was down, just the way he liked it. She was standing in front of him and her hand was reaching out to him but as much as he tried, he couldn't grab it.

"Come on.", she insisted.

"Meredith, I can't. I'm so tired.", he replied in despair.

"Grab my hand, please! We have to go."

"My body's so heavy. I can't."

Then, she disappeared. Derek franctically looked around him, trying to see where but she was gone.

Derek slowly opened his eyes. The room wasn't white anymore, it was brown. He was sitting on a chair in a corner. The sunlight was peaking through the blinds covering the window. He winced and massaged his temples with his hand.

_My head hurts so bad. What happened? Where the hell am I?_

Gradually, this morning's events came back to him. He remembered the amazing night he had with Meredith, walking out of the house and getting in his car. That's when Finn attacked him from behind. Derek tried to get up but realized that he was still dizzy form the chloroform and his feet were cuffed to the chair.

_Great. That's fucking great!_

He sat back down and sighed.

_What does he want from me? Kill me? Keep me here forever?_

He went through his pockets, trying to find his cellphone, but it wasn't there.

_Probably still in the car._

Shivers ran through his spine as he was trying to figure out what was on Finn's twisted mind.

_I'm in a bedroom._

There was a bed, a closet and drawers. Familiar drawers.

I_'m in Meredith's old bedroom, in Finn's apartment!_

Derek couldn't believe Finn was dumb enough to kidnap him and bring him to his own apartment.

Suddenly, the door opened and the veterinarian appeared behind it.

"Leaving your passenger door unlocked? Tsk, tsk. That's kind of stupid, Dr. Sheperd."

"Not as stupid as bringing me here."

"Shut up!", Finn barked. He walked into the room and sat on the bed. "This wasn't part of the plan. The plan was supposed to be you, going back to your trailer so I could drag you into the woods. But no, you couldn't do that. You had to go to Alex's house and sleep there. You ruined my plan. I had to improvise!"

_So Meredith was right last night, someone was watching us_.

"What are you going to do to me?", asked Derek. He was trying to be strong however he couldn't help but wonder if he would walk out of here alive.

"Once Meredith chooses me over you, there'll be no reason to keep you alive."

"She left you because you abused her. There's no way she'll choose you. No way."

"Did you have sex with her?!", Finn asked, his tone getting angrier.

"That's none of your business. She's not with you anymore.", Derek replied defiantly.

"It is my business! Meredith belongs to me! Once she gets here, she'll tell you herself! You and Alex, you put ideas into her head. You confused her! "

"Once she gets here? What are you going to do to her?!", he asked.

"I have plane tickets. We're going to a place where no one will find us. Then, I can do whatever the hell I want with her. She'll be mine.", he replied with a malicious smile

"I swear to God if you touch one hair on her head-", Derek shouted while getting up from the chair. Just the thought of him being near Meredith made Derek want to punch Finn until he begged for mercy. Realizing there was nothing he couldn't do anything due to being chained, he sat back down on the chair.

"She'll never go anywhere with you."

"Well, we'll see about that."

Finn got up and slammed the door on his way out.

_Everything's gonna be okay. Someone is bound to notice I'm not at work._

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------_

She knocked for the third time on Derek's office's door.

_Where is he? Maybe he's still in surgery._

She put her back to the wall and sighed. She had been waiting for 10 minutes. 10 long minutes.

_Where the hell is he?_

Meredith was getting impatient and hungry.

"Meredith?", Addison said as she walked towards her.

"Yes."

"Have you seen Derek?"

"No, we were supposed to meet for lunch 10 minutes ago."

Addison sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.

"No one has seen him today. He had two surgeries scheduled and a meeting but he didn't go."

"What? This morning he said he was going directly to the hospital. What happened?", she asked with concern.

"I don't know but I'm getting worried. I called his cell but it goes straight to voicemail. He's not at his trailer or with Mark. you were with him last night, right?"

"Yes."

"Did he say anything about going somewhere today?"

"No, not at all."

_Oh my God. What happened to him?!_

"If you see him, tell him I'm looking for him, okay?"

"Sure."

"Thanks.". Addison walked away, leaving behind a now worried Meredith Grey. She sat down on a nearby chair and closed her eyes.

_Maybe something happened to him! Maybe he got hit by a car or something. I'm so worried!_

"Meredith!"

She did not need to open her eyes to know who was calling her name.

_Like this day couldn't get any worse._

She opened her eyes and got up. He approached her and she backed away. Even in a hospital full of people, his presence still scared her.

"Meredith, don't walk away from me.", he pleaded.

"What the hell are you doing here?! I thought Alex had told you to leave me alone.", Meredith said harshly.

"You need to come with me.", he demanded.

_What?_

"What!?", she asked in complete confusion.

"Come on, you have to come with me!", he repeated his tome getting louder.

"I'm not going anywhere with you.", she answered coldly. She crossed her arms and back away again.

"It would be in Derek's best interests if you went with me."


	20. What a crazy day

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes.**

**Author's note: Hi!!! I firstly want to apologize (again) for the delay. I've had a crazy week! College started this week and I already have tons of homeworks and readings to do. :-( On top of that, I've had a nasty cold for the past 3-4 days so I've been sleeping a lot. I won't be this long for the next update! Thank you sooo much for reading/reviewing last chapter! Sadly, the end is near, just a couple of chapters left. *sigh* Enjoy this one and sorry if there are any typos. Don't forget to review!**

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_Best interests? What?......... Oh my God!_

"Where's Derek? W-What did you do to him? ", she asked nervously.

She had a feeling something awful had happened. Finn quickly closed the space between them and grabbed her elbow forcefully.

"Nothing.... yet, but that could change.", Finn threatened with an intense glare. He lifted his black sweater to show Meredith the gun pressed on his waist.

She looked into his eyes and could see he was serious.

_Oh my God, oh my God! He has a gun! This cannot be happening!_

"Okay, okay I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt him!"

He let go of her arm and rolled his eyes.

"What do you care if I hurt him or not? You're with me now. "

"What are you talking about?", she asked.

"You are going to tell Derek that you love me. I know you do.". He cupped her face with his hands. She felt disgust and fear at his touch. "Then, we're flying somewhere safe, where no one can find us."

_No ,no! I'll never go anywhere wtih him! Meredith, calm down. You need to play along until you figure out a way to save Derek. You can do this!_

She relunctantly took his hands in hers and forced a smile.

"Okay Finn. I'll tell Derek I want to be with you."

Finn smiled, seemingly believing her.

"I knew it! I knew you'd want to be with me. We never should've been apart in the first place but I forgive you for that."

She refrained from rolling her eyes.

"Let's go. The sooner we're done with this, the sooner we can start living our new life together.", she said with what sounded like a loving tone.

They took the elevator to the first floor and made their way to the parking lot. Unfortunately, they did not pass by any of Meredith's friends. She was hoping someone would see her wtih Finn and help her. They got inside the car and Finn drove off in direction of his appartment. The ride was uncomfortable. Finn kept talking about how much fun they were going to have together and how they never should've been apart. Meredith kept nodding and smiling while wondering how Derek was.

_Hold on Derek, I'll find a way to get you out of this._

Her heart was pounding and her palms sweating as she got out of the car. Being next to someone who had a gun and was very much ready to use it was not a good feeling.

_I have to calm down. I have to be strong for Derek._

They went up the stairs and arrived at the appartement door. Her former apartment. It felt weird for he to come back to this place, filled with so many bad memories but she didn't have a choice. Derek was in danger and she had to do everything Finn asked in order to save him. Finn unlocked the door and walked in, Meredith right behind him.

"Come with me.", he ordered, leading her to the bedroom. She followed him without a word. He opened the door and behind was Derek with a chair over his head, ready to bang it on the wall.

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_What am I gonna do? What can I do?_

"What do I do?", Derek thought outloud, still chained to the wall.

It had been thirty minutes since Finn had left. He was tired, hungry but mostly worried. Not worried about his safety but fearful of what Finn would do to Meredith. During that time, the neurosurgeon had tried to break the chain and slip his foot out of its restraint. All of his efforts amounted to nothing and Derek was getting frustrated.

_I have to get out of here and reach Meredith before Finn does! But how?.......Wait a second. I'm in an appartement building. There must be someody in any of these appartment units home today, right? Maybe if I make enough noise, someone will hear me and call the police!_

Derek got up, a warm feeling of hope passing through his body. He had to get out of here and get Meredith out of Finn's grasp before it was too late. He grabbed the chair he had been previously seated on and back away as much as he could which was not much. He swung the chair above his head and smashed it as hard as he could against the wall. Derek reapeated the action, hoping someone would do something. He stopped after 5 minutes of continious smashing. The noise made by his action was loud enough to convince Derek that someone must have heard him. All he had to do now is wait for someone to knock on the door or call the police to complain. He let himself fall on the floor, hands cupping his cheeks.

_Why is no one coming?! Maybe I need to bang it harder._

He sighed and got up. Just like five minutes earlier, he took the chair and swung it above his head. He was about to hit the wall with it when suddenly, the door opened. Finn stood behind it with Meredith.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Thank God he's okay._

"Put the chair down, Sheperd!", shouted Finn who had taked out his gun and was aiming it at the dark-haired doctor. the veterinarian stepped forward to face Derek while Meredith stayed behind, near the door. Meredith just stood there, her eyes going back and forth between Derek and Finn.

_What the hell? He has a gun?! Okay, play it cool Derek, I need to play it cool._

He slowly lowered the chair to the ground and put his palms up in a surrender manner.

"Alright, don't shoot."

"Shut up", he barked. "Let's not waste any time here. Meredith, tell him. Tell him you want to be with me."

Meredith walked until she was standing next to Finn, facing Derek as well.

_I need to play along and make it believable. Come on, Mer._

Meredith took a shaky breath. She needed to make Finn believe she wanted to be with him. She would do anything to ensure Dere's safety.

"Finn's right. I still love him and I want to be with him.", she calmy said. Meredith's mouth was saying something but her regard was telling a completely different story. She conveyed all the love and passion she felt for Derek in her eyes and hoped he'd see it.

And he saw it.

_She's faking it. She's trying to save me._

He could see in her eyes how much she loved him and how scared she was at the same time.

"Good. Now that it has been cleared up, we don't need you anymore .", Finn announced.

_What?! He's gonna kill me?_

"What?!", exclaimed Meredith, turning to Finn. "I said I wanted to be with you. You won! We can leave and be together, just like you don't have to kill him."

"Baby", he replied. "I have to kill him so you can move on. I have to. Once he's dead, you won't have to think about him anymore and you can focus on us."

"Finn, don't do this.", Derek warned with a worried tone. He saw the madness in the veterinarian's eyes and knew he would stop at nothing to have Meredith. "You don't have to do this."

"Shut up!", Finn replied. He unblocked the safety and aimed the gun to Derek's chest.

"Goodbye, Dr. Sheperd.", Finn gavely announced.

_No, no no! I can't let him kill Derek. have to do something! Meredith do something!_

It all happened so fast.

Meredith jumped in from of the gun and attempted to grap it. Finn and her and were now struggling for the weapon. She was trying to get ahold of it but the veterinarian's fingers were tightly holding on.

"Meredith!", Derek yelled. Before he closed the space between him and them, the gun went off. Screams filled out the room.

Meredith and Finn both stood still for a few seconds. Blood had spattered all over the walls and smoke was in the air. She looked at Derek, with tears streaming down her face as Finn collapsed to the ground.

Derek took the gun from her hands and dropped it on the bed. He pulled her body towards him and placed his arms around her waist.

"Is-is he de-dead?", she softly stuttered, her arms around his neck and her face in his chest.


	21. The rest of our lives

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes.**

**Author's note: Hey!! Once again, school has kept me from fnishin this chapter to all who read/reviewed and sorry for making you wait. I'm sad because after this one, there is only one chapter left. *sniff* Enjoy and don't forget to review!**

* * *

Meredith and Derek were sitting in a waiting room, close to the Pit. Her head was leaning on his shoulder while his hand was absentmindedly playing with her locks.

"Meredith!", she heard a familiar voice exclaim. Both Derek and her got up while Izzie ran towards them.

"I just heard about what happened! I'm so glad you're okay!", she said as she put her arms around her sister-in-law's body and held her tightly. "I was so scared!"

Meredith closed her eyes and breathed Izzie's scent, something she thought she'd never get to do again.

Derek watched the whole scene with a bright smile. Yes, he was exhausted mentally and physically but seeing Meredith so happy just made everything bright and shiny.

Izzie let go of her, turned to Derek and gave him a tight hug.

"I can't believe that son of a bitch kidnapped you! Derek, did you get checked out?"

"Yeah, did and I'm fine."

"And you Mer, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. He didn't hurt me.", she assured.

"You sure?", Izzie insisted

"Izzie, don't worry about me. I'm okay, I promise.", she answered with a reassuring smile.

"Then why are you still here?", Izzie asked.

"The police may have some questions for us so we have to stick around."

"But Finn, is he.....",

No.", Derek sighed. "They're working on him right now but he's going to make it."

"Really?", was all Izzie could utter.

"Yeah", replied Meredith. "When the gun went off, he passed out and we called the paramedics."

"Well, it's getting late. I'm going to meet Alex at home. I don't think he knows what happened yet"

"Okay, we'll see you in a bit", Meredith replied.

"Are you coming too, Derek? ", Izzie inquired.

"I wouldn't want to would to intrude.", Derek said. Of course he wanted to be with Meredith tonight, more than ever. After everything that happened today, he didn't want to let her out of his sight. He almost lost her once today and never would he let it happen again. Derek just thought that Meredith would want to be alone with her family.

"Derek", Meredith said. "After everything you've done for me, after all we've been through ,you're family now. Right, Iz?"

"Of course. You shouldn't be alone tonight. There's more than enough room for you.", the blonde smiled.

"Okay then.", he smiled back. "We'll join you once the police is done with us."

Izzie walked away, leaving the two of them face to face.

Meredith put her arms around his neck while his hands rested on her waist.

"I'm glad you're coming home with me.", she smiled.

"There's nowhere else I would rather be.", he replied.

After the cops were done with them, Meredith and Derek made their way home. When they got there, they were greeted by a very worried Alex. After a lot of hugging and talking, everyobdy decided it was time to go to bed.

As soon as they arrived to her room, they let their bodies fall freely on the bed, not bothering to take off their clothes.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hmmm.", hummed Derek. Something was tickling his scruffy cheek. He opened his eyes to Meredith hovering over him, strocking his face with her slender fingers.

_This has got to be the best way to be waken up_

"Hey, beautiful.", she greeted.

"Hey.", he sighed.

"Did you sleep well?"

"I slept amazing. You?"

"Same. You make a wonderful pillow by the way", she joked.

"That's good to know", he chuckled.

Derek yawned and rubbed his eyes while Meredith got up. He noticed she had showered and changed into new clothes.

"Where are you going?", he asked.

"To the hospital."

"You're not working today, are you? I thought the Chief had given you the day off."

"Yes, he did. I'm going to see Finn."

Derek furrowed his brows.

"Why would you want to do that, Mer?"

She knew wanting to see her abusive ex-boyfriend was weird and not logical but she needed closure.

"I need to do talk to him."

"Then I'm coming with you.", he announced leaving no room for discussion.

She walked back towards the bed and sat in front of him.

"Derek, it's something I need to do alone. I promise I'll be back soon. Do you trust me?"

Derek's face softened as he sighed.

"Of course I trust you."

"Then I'll see you later. Izzie probably made breakfeast downstairs.", she said. She leaned closer and place a gentle kiss on his lips before walking out of the room.

_What could she possiby have to say to him?_

---------------------------------------------------------------------

She stood outside the hospital room, wondering if coming here was a good idea.

_Mer, you have to face him one last time. Just say what you have to say and go. It's easy._

Meredith took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in", she heard a voice say from the other side. She opened the door and stepped inside.

_He looks awful._

Finn was laying, both wrists handcuffed to the bed. He was hooked to mutiple machines and had a large bandage on his chest, covering the bullet wound. Meredith saw a chair in the corner of the room but decided not to sit down. She stood near the door, her hand firmly grasping her handbag.

"Meredith?", he whispered, looking up. "Meredith! I knew you'd come back for me, I knew you'd-"

"Stop, just stop.", she coldly said, interrupting his sentence. "I did not come back for you. I came back for me."

Finn's face darkened.

"Meredith, I'm so sorry for what happened. Please forgive me, I'm so sorry. I only did what I did because I love you so much.", he pleaded.

"Oh, really? All the times you hit, pushed me, made me feel like less of a human being, it was because you loved me? ", she asked, her voice going louder.

_I have to calm down. I did not come here to fight, he's just not worth it._

Finn tried to sit up but was held back by the handcuffs.

"But Mer-"

"It's my turn to talk.", she replied. Meredith took another deep breath and looked straight into his eyes.

"You beat me down time after time but I'm still standing and that's all thanks to Derek. Because, Finn, he is ten times the man you will ever be. "

She tucked her hair behind her ears. He looked down, visibly hurt by what she was saying.

"I never meant to hurt you.", he whispered.

"Yeah you did, but it doesn't matter now. I'm going to live my life to the fullest and never, ever have to worry about a man putting his hands on me."

Suddeny, Meredith felt empowered and confident. For the first time, she stood before Finn, knowing fully what she was worth. Meredith was of average height, but at this exact moment, she felt eighteen feet tall.

"I also want you to know that I intend to presss charges against you for domestic violence and for every horrible thing you've done. I will make sure you never do this to someone else.", she declared.

Finn stared at her with an unreadable expression. She back away, ready to leave.

"This goes without saying but don't ever try to contact me again because as far as I'm concerned, you no longer exist."

With that said, shoulders back and head held up high, she walked out of the room.

----------------------------------------------------------------

When she returned to Alex's house, she found Derek sitting on the couch, watching the news.

"Hey!", he exclaimed as he shut the television off.

"Hey", she greeted back. She took off her shoes and sat next to him, putting her legs on his lap.

"Are you okay?", he said. He figured seeing Finn again must've been hard an emotionnally draining for her.

"I'm more than okay, I'm great.", she assured him.

"Listen, I can't believe I forgot to tell you this but thank you.",he said, placing a quick kiss on the back of her hand.

"For what?", she asked.

"For saving me yesterday. You risked your life for me. No one has ever done that for me before."

"You're welcome but you saved me too. You saved me from a life full of fear and sadness. I was just returning the favor.", she giggled

"Well, I guess we'll keep saving each other for the rest of our lives.", he stated.

_Did he just say «the rest of our lives»? What does he mean by that? Is it what I think it means?!_

"The rest of our lives?", she repeated, eyeing him with a playful smile.

_I can do this, I can say it. Come on Derek._

"Yes, the rest if our lives because...........I want to spend every day I have left on this earth with you. Meredith, I love you.", he confessed.

"Derek!" she exclaimed as tears blurred her vision. "I love you too. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

He took her face between his hands and pressed his lips against hers. She closed her eyes and savoured his taste. For the first time in a long time, she truly felt loved for who she was. She felt safe and whole. This moment marked the end of a chapter and the beggining of a new one.


	22. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes.**

**Author's note: Hi!! So here it is, the final chapter. Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed my story. To those who read the beggining but didn't like it, thanks for at least giving my story a try. You all made it so much fun to write this! I will be back with another story in maybe two weeks. I don't think there will be a sequel, but who knows? :-). As always, enjoy and dont forget to review! :)**

* * *

**Three month later...**

The courtroom was packed with journalists and photographers. In the front row were sitting Derek, Meredith and their family from the hospital.

Derek flinched, his forearm being attacked by Meredith's nails.

"Meredith, ouch.", he whispered in her ears with an amused tone. She gasped and quickly released him from her strong hold.

"I'm sorry", she breathed while attempting to smooth away the dent marks on his skin. "I don't know why I'm so nervous, I just want this day to be over."

"Don't worry, it'll be over soon.", he replied, planting a kiss on her head.

"May the accused rise.", the judge ordered.

Finn Dandridge stood on his feet, anxiously waiting for his sentence. The room, who was previously filled with whispers was now in complete silence.

"Today is the day you will receive your sentence, . I'd like to commend Dr. Grey and Dr. Sheperd for being so strong and so patient throughout this process."

Meredith and Derek both nodded thank you. He enlanced his fingers with hers and squeezed. She squezeed back.

"What I am giving you today, is an examplanary sentencing. In the last few years, too many domestic violence crimes have been reported. It needs to stop. By doing what I am doing today, I am showing that no one is above the law. You are sentenced to 20 years, without parole."

"Oh my God, Derek!", Meredith exclaimed, putting her hands around his neck. He opened his arms and put them around her waist.

"It's all over now.", he said in her hair. "Everything's okay now."

"Officer, take into custody."

-------------------------------------------------------

After the trial, the whole gang decided to celebrate the event at Joe's. All ten of them were seated around a big table, with a drink.

Izzie stood up, her drink in hand and a big ear-to-ear smile plastered on her face.

"I'd like to propose a toast", she announced, quieting the table. "Derek, ever since she met you, Meredith has changed. She's glowing."

Meredith, who was next to Derek, blushed, not expecting the speech her sister-in-law had prepared.

_I'm not gonna cry, I won't cry. _

Her internal coaching did not seem to work because tears were threatening to cover her cheeks.

"So, Derek, you're part of our family now and I know that you and Meredith will be happy for a very long time. Maybe in a couple of years you can give Alex and me a little niece or nephew", she joked with a wink.

"I'm so not baysitting!", Crsitina exclaimed.

The whole table erupted in laughter.

"To Derek and Meredith", Izzie said, rasing her glass.

"To Derek and Meredith", the others repeated before drinking a sip from their drink.

"Thanks guys.", Derek said.

"Yeah, thank you everyone.", Meredith replied, drying her tears with her sleeve.

"Are you okay, Mer?", Derek asked, seeing her cry.

"Of course. I'm just really happy to be here, right now with you."

"Me too", he smiled.

He approached her face and softly pressed his lips against hers.

"Awwww", everyone exclaimed.

**Seven years later...**

"He would beat me for the smallest things, he'd talked down to me like I was 5 years old. I always felt like his child and not his equal.", the brunette said to the group."I've never felt so helpless and....ummm...can I sit down now?"

"Of course, Sydney. ", Meredith answered with a comforting smile.

Meredith looked at the short brunette.

_It's crazy how much she reminds me of myself, right after I left Finn. Scared, shy, insecure._

"I know it's hard to tell your story the first time but this group is filled with 9 other women who have been through the same thing. You are in the last place where people would judge you so please, don't be afraid to speak up, okay?"

"Okay", Sidney shyly replied.

"So this concludes this week's session. Remember your assignment for next week: come back with three reasons why you decided to leave your abusive relationship. See you next monday. "

While everybody placed their chair back to where they belonged, Meredith approached Sidney.

"Hey, the first time is always hard."

"Yeah, that's what everybody says.", Sidney nervously replied.

"Do you have somebody to talk to about this, outside of the group?"

"Umm..not really. The people around me just feel sorry for me. I can't stand it.", the young woman replied with a shrug.

Meredith smiled emphatically and took out her buisness card from her jacket pocket.

"Here's my card. I wrote down my cellphone number and my email. Reach me whenever you need to talk. I meant it.", she said , looking straight into her eyes. Sydney seemed genuinely touched, she took the card and put in in her purse.

"Thank you so much for this, Dr, Sheperd."

"Please, call me Meredith"

"Okay, Meredith. See you next week!"

"Okay, bye", Meredith said. She felt proud to know she might've helped one more person into the right direction.

After everyone said their goodbyes and left, Meredith turned off the lights, locked the room and made her way home.

----------------------------------------------------

"I'm home!", Meredith annouced as she closed the front door of their two-story house.

Derek walked towards her and planted a kiss on his wife's lips.

"Hey beautiful. How was the group?"

"It was good, I feel like they're all making progress", she said with a huge smile.

"I thin it's great what you're doing with these women. Turning what happened with Finn into something positive. I'm so proud of you.", he said, taking her hand in his.

"Thank you.", she replied. "Now, where is my big guy?"

Right at this moment, footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. The black-haired six year-old quickly ran to the front door to give his mom a tight hug. Meredith bent down to embrace her son.

"Mommy!"

"Hey, David! How was your day?", she said, running her hand though his unruly curls.

"Yeah, Dave, tell mommy what happened today" Derek said with pride.

"What happened? Tell me!", Meredith laughed.

"So today I was playing with Macy and we was having fun."

"You mean «we were having fun»?", Meredith corrected.

"Yeah. And then, Max came and he tried to take Macy's toy!"

"Really?!", Meredith exclaimed with fake shock

"Yeah, mommy really! She wouldn't give him the toy so Max hit Macy on the arm!", David exclaimed.

"Now, tell mommy what you did", Derek said. Meredith looked at him with an amused expression.

"I-I got in his face and I told him that boys don't ever ever ever hit girls and I told him to say sorry.", the boy said.

"You did? Did he say sorry?", Meredith asked with a bright smile.

"Yes."

"The teacher heard what he said and when I went to pick him up earlier, she said we were raising him to become a respectable young man.", Derek added.

"Aww, I'm so proud of you baby.", Meredith gushed, while giving her son another hug. "Now, go wash up for dinner."

"Okay mommy.", David said before going up the stairs.

"I'm so grateful to have such a great family", Meredith said as she put her arms around his neck.

"Me too.", Derek replied, smaking his arms around her waist.

"I love you"

"I love you more."


End file.
